MEMPHIS, Tennessee —
Starting Monday night, the cities of Memphis and Germantown will be under an indefinite, mandatory curfew starting at 10 p.m. and ending at 6 a.m. for Memphis and 5 a.m. for Germantown.
The moves followed five days of protests across the Bluff CIty that were mainly peaceful - but at times - chaotic demonstrations that boiled over, leading to dozens of arrests, nearly a dozen businesses damaged and several Memphis Police officers shot at.
The demonstrations locally and nationally are in response to the death of George Floyd, an African-American man killed by a Minneapolis Police officer last Monday. After a Sunday night of chaos, vandalism and arrests across downtown Memphis, Monday afternoon Mayor Jim Strickland ordered a curfew effective indefinitely. The move came after a conference call with mayors of similarly sized cities.
"They really felt a curfew was needed once there is property damage and some kind of violent act and we saw that last night,” Mayor Strickland said.
Memphis Police arrested dozens of people Sunday night following volatile and violent moments. After two competing demonstrator groups splintered around 8 Sunday night, one group repeatedly attempted to storm the I-55 bridge and temporarily blocked the interstate before marching around other downtown areas. Memphis Police Director Mike Rallings said three of his officers were shot at.
"These acts of vandalism and violence, assaults on police officers cannot be tolerated,” Director Rallings said.
The MPD director said his department is reviewing its own rules following last Monday’s death of George Floyd by a now former Minneapolis Police officer by a technique already banned by MPD.
"The Memphis Police Department has no policy that allows for a knee to be placed on the neck of any individual,” Director Rallings said.
With the unrest nationwide not letting up, Mayor Strickland and Director Rallings applauded the vast majority of demonstrators who marched peacefully in recent days.
"I know that you are hurting and that you are angry and that you want change,” Mayor Strickland said.
Those exempt during the city of Memphis curfew include essential workers or those having a medical emergency.