by Kim Jarrett
Memphis Mayor Paul Young cited costs on Thursday saying he would not enter into a consent decree with the Department of Justice over allegations of use of excessive force and discrimination against Black people.
The Justice Department released its investigation, which began in July 2023, this week.
“Our exhaustive investigation found that the Memphis Police Department engages in a pattern or practice of using excessive force, conducting unlawful stops, searches and arrests and discriminatory policing of Black people and residents with behavioral health disabilities,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Our investigation also identified troubling policing practices that impact some of Memphis’ most vulnerable residents – its children.”
The Memphis Police Department and the city cooperated with the investigation and the city takes the findings seriously, Young (pictured above) said.
“It’s crucial that the city has the time to do a thorough review and respond to the findings before agreeing to anything that could become a long-term financial burden to our resident and would in fact actually slow down our ongoing efforts to continuously improve our police department,” Young said.
Young said a similar consent decree in Chicago cost the city more than $500 million and Seattle spent $200 million.
“In some of these cities crime has actually increased under a consent decree and we can’t take that risk here,” Young said.
The Justice Department said when it works with cities, the costs for police reform decrease.
“Achieving meaningful constitutional policing reform costs time and resources,” Clarke said. “But not implementing systemic reforms also imposes enormous costs – cost in terms of citizens’ rights that are trampled, personal and financial costs in injuries and deaths due to excessive, unnecessary use of force, costs in diminished public safety and millions of dollars in legal judgments against the city due to constitutional violations.”
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Kim Jarrett’s career spans over 30 years with stops in radio, print and television. She has won awards from both the Georgia Press Association and the Georgia Association of Broadcasters. Jarrett is an associate editor for The Center Square.
Background Photo “DOJ Building” by Coolcaeser. CC BY-SA 3.0.
From the article;
“Our exhaustive investigation found that the Memphis Police Department engages in a pattern or practice of using excessive force, conducting unlawful stops, searches and arrests and discriminatory policing of Black people and residents with behavioral health disabilities,”
I am not saying that Memphis is squeaky clean but this the apex of liberal BS. i witnessed the same phony racist allegations in Vermont. People of color would get pulled over for a traffic violation and some bleeding heart liberal .org would accuse the PD of racism. This year I read an article about a city that was going to disable its red light cameras because too many black people were caught running red lights. So according the the Biden administration people of color should be excused for breaking the law.