Data provided by the City of Memphis shows local, state, and federal law enforcement have made more than 6,000 arrests since the Memphis Safe Task Force (MSTF) was deployed on September 30, prompting responses from federal and state prosecutors over the increase in cases.
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy, who previously faced calls for his removal and accusations of being soft on crime by Republicans in the General Assembly, told The Daily Memphian last month that his office had filed over 1,700 cases related to MSTF since it deployed, including 129 cases that were referred to grand juries.
With Mulroy reporting cases for less than half of the total number of arrested, it remains unclear exactly how many will face federal charges, but the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that 20 attorneys from the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps of the Department of War (DOW) had been reassigned to serve as Special U.S. Attorneys to support the task force.
“The JAG SAUSAs are deployed from states all over the country, and many have prior federal and state prosecutorial experience as well as litigation practice backgrounds,” announced the DOJ, adding that the attorneys began receiving additional training in November 2025.
When DOJ announced the decision to temporarily reassign the military lawyers on January 7, it revealed a total of 195 defendants arrested during the MSTF deployment faced charges from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee.
According to the DOJ, the federal government is handling cases related to assaults on law enforcement, firearm cases involving felons or prohibited automatic weapons, drug offenses, and child exploitation.
U.S. Attorney Michael Dunavant said his office was committed to supporting the MSTF by obtaining convictions for those arrested.
“Our office is committed to supporting the work of the MSTF by responsive and aggressive federal prosecution of cases involving offenders who pose a significant risk to public safety, to effectively punish, incapacitate, and deter criminal conduct and reduce violent crime,” stated Dunavant. “This coordination and personnel-sharing between the Department of Justice and the Department of War is unprecedented and comes at a time when federal prosecutorial resources are most needed due to increased court dockets caused by the outstanding work of the MSTF.”
Of the 6,021 arrests tracked by the City of Memphis, a total of 2,408 are for felony crimes, while 3,613 are for misdemeanors. The city also reports 1,659 warrant arrests, including 305 for domestic violence, 267 for aggravated assault, 163 for drug crimes, and 134 for weapons offenses.
It also shows MSTF has recovered 1,439 illegal firearms and 816 stolen vehicles, while total calls for police service are down 18.5 percent, and reports of serious crimes are down 42.6 percent.
The U.S. Marshals Service additionally announced last week that MSTF members had located 142 missing children since late September.
– – –
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].
Photo “Tennessee National Guard” by Tennessee National Guard.
