MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Some Memphis city council members were frustrated as police provided new details and insight behind new security measures downtown.
MPD and the Downtown Memphis Commission rolled out a new plan after a mass shooting off Beale Street near BB King and Peabody sent eight people to local hospitals a little over a week ago.
“Unfortunately, everything that happens downtown gets associated with Beale Street,” said Joe Calhoun, Withers Collection Museum & Gallery Operations Manager.
This was not the first time the city has tried to roll out a change to downtown traffic. According to Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, a plan was in place up until a few months ago.
At the city council committee meeting Tuesday morning, MPD Chief CJ Davis said the plan was dropped after a change in leadership downtown. A new approach was attempted but was unsuccessful, which is why this new permanent solution is being worked on downtown.
“I think most people were in agreement that we needed more police presence,” said Calhoun.
The new pedestrian-focused plan launched over the weekend, using barricades to shift where cars travel and utilizing nearby cameras and local law enforcement.
The early sample size appeared to indicate the process was working. The Memphis Public Safety Data Hub shows only six crimes were reported from August 18 to 20 compared to the 20 reported crimes the weekend before.
However, according to DMC President and Memphis Mayoral candidate Paul Young, the plan is likely to see changes upon input from the community.
“We’re going to work to make sure we’re going to get the right plans such that people can still patron the businesses, but we can also keep downtown safe,” said Young.
At the following City Council Meeting, members asked MPD to consider additional crime fighting options to be included in the new plan.
Councilman Chase Carlisle suggested using wristbands to help cut down on underage drinking, while City Council Chairman Martavius Jones asked what needs to be done to get sheriff’s office deputies to work alongside MPD in the plan permanently.
Davis said permanent solutions are being explored to have permanent shifts for MPD officers during the weekend to help keep the operation underway. The chief also mentioned talks would likely happen to include permanent sheriff’s office positions downtown as well.
“The conversation with the Sheriff’s Department will be what permanent staff can we count on to be part of this plan,” said Davis at the Tuesday Council meeting.
After the meeting, several council members drafted a resolution to request the Sheriff’s Office to help out in the downtown plan.
The resolution passed unanimously; however, before it did, Shelby County Sheriff and Memphis Mayoral Candidate Floyd Bonner spoke on some communication struggles over the effort.
Bonner said the department has not backed down from helping MPD in the past and was ready to help on a permanent basis if asked. The sheriff’s office had helped out with the initial plan, but Bonner said MPD had not released full details on its future or invited them to take part.
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy also spoke out on MPD’s new crime fighting plan downtown after he said he was not involved in the making of it.
“Whenever you have a localized enforcement effort, there is always the danger that it will push the criminal activity to another area, but I don’t think that’s a reason to force localized enforcement efforts,” said Mulroy.