MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis Police Department face plenty of questions after the Department of Justice opened a civil rights investigation into its "patterns or practices.”
Allegations include the use of force and discrimination during traffic stops.
While the investigation was brought on by the death of Tyre Nichols, local community leaders said it’s about so much more than that.
“How many times did people experience something similar to Tyre Nichols, they just didn't die?” civil rights activist Dr. Earle Fisher asked.
Dr. Fisher, the senior pastor at Abyssinian Baptist Church, said the investigation is a good first step towards lasting change.
“Nobody who has really paid attention to this will actually be shocked by any of the findings,” he said. “But what the findings should do, is verify and validate that we have known what the hell we are talking about.”
Bennie Cobb, who spent over 30 years with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office (and one with MPD), said law enforcement agencies aren’t often receptive to investigations like this.
“A lot of police departments don't like to be investigated, don't like to have their practices looked into and years ago, and not that long ago, a lot of police departments just circled the wagons,” he said. “They refused to cooperate. They go into denial.”
While it will be years before the DOJ releases the findings of its investigation, Dr. Fisher said the federal government should not leave the city to pay for the changes the DOJ recommends on its own.
“The funding part, the price tag, those recommendations tend to fall on the municipality,” he said. “Which is to say, ultimately, they fall on the taxpayer.”
Cobb said this investigation will be to the benefit of MPD officers.
“Take the pressure off some of the good officers where they can continue to do a good job and do it better,” he said. “Without having them look over their shoulders and wonder if their peers are gonna turn on them because they are trying to do the right things.”
The DOJ said anyone who wishes to report possible incidents of discrimination can contact them at community.memphis@usdoj.gov or at 888-473-3730.
“This is the opportunity for us to chart a better path forward,” Dr. Fisher says. “But that won't come if our people in our community don't decide to raise our voices even further at this point.”