The Memphis Safe Task Force (MSTF) announced it made 51 arrests in a 24-hour period last Thursday, the same day the Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation that will require Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy to file reports explaining his prosecutorial decisions with cases generated by task force members.
In a press release, the U.S. Marshals Service announced that the MSTF arrested 51 suspects and recovered seven firearms. Those arrested include an individual who was wanted for second-degree murder, two men accused of drug offenses, including one who allegedly held a distribution-level quantity of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and marijuana at the time of arrest.
According to the Marshals, the Thursday activity brought the total number of arrests by MSTF members to 8,038, while data published by the City of Memphis shows more than 10,500 arrests have occurred since the task force deployed last September.
The arrests occurred as the Memphis Safe Task Force Accountability Act, introduced by State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) and State Representative John Gillespie (R-Memphis) in January, passed its final legislative hurdle, with the State Senate passing the version of the bill that already succeeded in the State House, and advancing the bill to the desk of Governor Bill Lee.
Under the legislation, Mulroy, or any district attorney who is assigned a case originating from the MSTF, must file a report with the Tennessee Attorney General, speakers of the State House and State Senate, District Attorneys General Conference, and the local U.S. Attorney, to explain any decision to and enter into a plea agreement, lower the charges, dismiss the cases, or decline to prosecute the defendant.
Taylor previously described the Shelby County prosecutor as a weak link in the task force, which includes resources and personnel from local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.
“When I recently testified in front of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, I testified that our Soros-backed District Attorney Steve Mulroy was the weak link,” wrote Taylor in an October post to X. Noting that the accountability bill would allow lawmakers to monitor Mulroy’s prosecutorial decisions, he wrote, “we can’t let this once in a generation opportunity go to waste!”
The state lawmaker pursued disqualification charges against Mulroy last year, though the prosecutor was cleared following a narrow complaint to the Tennessee Board of Responsibility.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
