While the White House marked the first year since the authorization of the Memphis Safe Task Force (MSTF) earlier this month, the U.S. Marshals Service on Tuesday released a retrospective exactly one year after combined federal, state, and local forces deployed to the Bluff City on September 29, 2025.
The Marshals said task force members have made 12,796 arrests since the deployment. Of these arrests, the federal law enforcement agency said in its press release that 131 were homicide arrests, while 1,367 were for controlled substances, 125 for sex offenses, and 1,279 for firearms violations.
Amid these arrests, the Marshals said that 2,163 illegal guns were seized by task force members. Vice President JD Vance said last year that these are firearms that were illegally obtained or in the possession of felons, who are federally prohibited from owning guns.
Marshal Tyreece Miller, the U.S. Marshal of the Western District of Tennessee, said the Marshals Service deployments to Memphis and Washington, D.C., under President Donald Trump will rank among its most historic operations since the agency was founded in 1789.
“I think when historians look back on these safe missions that we’ve done in D.C. and done in Memphis, it’s going to go down in that long chronological history of milestones this agency has achieved because we are changing lives and we are saving lives,” said Miller.
He added that while the operational duties for Marshals in the MSTF were not unique, the deployment is “at a much larger scale” than a normal operation.
Chad Hunt, who is now chief inspector and commander of the Marshals’ Gulf Coast Regional Task Force, and served as the MSTF operational commander at its launch and first 188 days, said that federal law enforcement was “asked to build something that really didn’t exist” prior to the MSTF.
“We brought together people, agencies that normally don’t work together that have different missions, different authorities, different cultures, and you’re bringing them all together at once in a very short amount of time,” stated Hunt. “We ask them really to operate together, to have one common strategic goal, and a year later, we’re all very proud of what we’ve achieved.”
Hunt also suggested the MSTF deployment would continue.
“The need is still there for the citizens of Memphis, and we’re making sure that the personnel that are deployed are used in the most positive way to the citizens of Memphis,” said Hunt.
Hunt added, “The goal is for all of us to create some sort of sustainable public safety capacity and partnerships. And while we’ve achieved a lot of that, our obligation still remains the same.”
Memphis Mayor Paul Young reported last November that Memphis recorded its lowest crime total since at least 2001, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation later confirmed the accuracy of the city’s data.
Last month, MSTF members averaged 28 arrests per day.
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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].
Photo “Tennessee National Guard” by Tennessee National Guard.
