MEMPHIS, Tenn — New efforts continue to hold local law enforcement accountable.
Monday night, Shelby County Commissioners passed two ordinances requesting Sheriff Floyd Bonner and his office be more transparent with their data.
Unlike his stance Monday when it came to potentially ending pretextual traffic stops, Bonner, who is also a Memphis Mayoral Candidate, said he was willing to work with the County on the two ordinances that were passed.
“We have no issue with collecting data,” said Bonner.
The ordinances request the Sheriff’s Office collect information on traffic stops, arrests, use of force on citizens and complaints against law enforcement officers.
“We’re going to have to work with County IT on some of the data that they want, but I think we can work through it. We’re not for sure if we have to hire more employees,” said Bonner.
The request had been in the works for months, gaining extra attention following the deaths of Jarveon Hudspeth and Gershun Freeman.
“Ordinances like these provide activists, organizers, concerned citizens like myself, the directly impacted folks a little bit of extra information for accountability,” said Chase Madkins, who spoke at the commission meeting.
“This is a great opportunity to make data openly available in a way that can foster trust and help with shared decision making,” said Daniela Gilbert, VERA Institute of Justice.
The VERA Institute of Justice has been fighting for criminal system reform for over six decades. Gilbert tells ABC24 this is likely only one of the first steps towards transparency, but the data gathered from the Sheriff’s Office could help develop new policies.
“It can be used to address concerns and also illustrate the positive impact of policies,” said Gilbert.
According to the VERA Institute own records, Memphis scored 48 out of 100 when it comes to transparency. Out of the 94 City Police Departments tracked, only a quarter of those cities scored above 50.
In a statement to ABC24, Decarcerate Memphis, a local law enforcement watchdog group, said:
"Last night, at the Shelby county commission we were able to see the strength of an organized community and the power of an organized demand. We are one part of a movement that’s happening in Memphis and Shelby County, whether it’s shutting down the bridge, bail reform, stopping a pipeline or demanding police accountability, these movements are fueled by people power. Voices from labor, reproductive Justice, formerly incarcerated folks, faith leaders and marginalized communities came together in agreement and to say on the record that pretextual stops and unchecked power in policing cannot continue.
We consider last night a victory. Data and transparency came out on top. The sheriffs office has officially been asked, on the record by the people and with the support of the commission to ensure that we know how our law enforcement is operating. A majority of our commissioners favor the banning of pretextual traffic stops.
Unfortunately, the ordinance to ban pretextual traffic stops failed based on the absence of one commissioner. Which is proof that every voice counts. We are pleased to share that Commissioner Whaley has agreed to bring back the ordinance on Monday, October 16 for another reading and with the support of the commissioners who voted in our favor and the addition of Commissioner Sugarmon’s vote we will bring this win home.
We are grateful for the support of the community, our community partners and grateful for the support of our commissioner who heard our voices uplifted for justice and they answered that call affirmatively. We want to send a special thank you to Commissioner Thornton who championed these ordinances as her own and fought the good fight with us. We will see you again on October 16."