A former Memphis Police officer was sentenced to more than a decade in prison after pleading guilty to several crimes.
On January 24, 2020, former Memphis Police Officer Sam Blue, 63, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate civil rights by using force, violence, and intimidation, and conspiracy to commit robbery affecting interstate commerce,” said a press release from the Department of Justice (DOJ). “On October 25, 2022, United States District Court Judge John T. Fowlkes Jr. sentenced Blue to 144 months in federal prison to be followed by three years’ supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.”
For four years – from 2014 to 2018 – Blue, who was at the time a sworn member of the Memphis Police Department (MPD) worked with local Memphis drug gangs to rob other drug dealers of their proceeds.
Blue used his law enforcement resources to look up addresses for the targets of the robberies, aiding his co-conspirators. He also provided those co-conspirators with his badge and blue siren lights to help them appear to be police officers in the course of their robberies.
“Our citizens have a right to be policed by officers who follow the law,” U.S. Attorney Kevin G. Ritz said. “This officer abused his authority and violated others’ civil rights. He’ll now spend a significant time in federal prison. My hope is that this sentence sends a clear message that law enforcement officers who break the law will be held accountable.”
The crimes were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
“This sentencing proves that abuse of law enforcement authority will not be tolerated,” said Bryan McCloskey, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Memphis Field Office. “Every citizen has the right to expect law enforcement officers to act in accordance with the laws they have sworn to uphold, and the FBI is committed to aggressively investigating and bringing to justice those officers who break the law and violate the public trust.”
MPD did not return a Wednesday comment request.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Business as usual in western Tennessee.