MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The City of Memphis has a car problem.
City council member Jerri Green asked Memphis Police Department officials what they need to fulfill the demand for vehicles during a Tuesday, July 23 council committee meeting.
Interim MPD Chief Cerelyn 'C.J.' Davis said that the department has asked the city administration for a complete audit on the fleet.
"We have many cars sitting around that should've been gone a long time ago," Davis said Tuesday. "There is really no idea of the entire fleet status. We do need to have better service.
"... a more in depth conversation on how we can be more efficient in getting our fleet up and operating."
Some of those vehicles appear to be sitting in a downtown Memphis parking garage.
Covered in dust, sitting on flats, dented and parked over spot lines, the vehicles are predominately more than 15 years old.
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MPD officials did not respond to June 25 requests for comment, but some of the more egregious examples have since been moved from the garage after ABC24 initially reached out.
But others are still there.
It's unclear if some of the vehicles are still being used, but as MPD receives funding for new vehicles, records show that the fleet for the department is seemingly not keeping up with an efficient fleet management plan.
FLEET MANAGEMENT
Davis said during the council meeting that she wanted more regular replacement of vehicles after five years instead of having cars that are 10 to 15 years old.
That five-year mark falls in line with the City's Fleet Lifecycle Policy and Procedures, which has varying recommendations depending upon the type of vehicle.
The City's Lifecycle policy says that, "This lifecycle is intended to offer service information that may facilitate each Owning Division the ability to establish a deletion/disposal priority for their fleet vehicles."
That plan lists emergency response vehicles (police squad cars) as needing to be replaced after five years of age and having 100,000 miles.
Nearly 42 percent of MPD's fleet of vehicles are listed as being made in 2016 or older, and 25 percent are from before 2010.
That number is also most likely higher as several vehicles listed in the fleet inventory are listed as "Unknown," which doesn't list the year, make or model and just has when the vehicle was procured and the current mileage.
"In addition the lifecycle along with the targeted maintenance schedule will enable the ... Owning Divisions to budget for required maintenance services reducing equipment failures and the cost of major repairs," the policy reads.
"At the conclusion of each life cycle the vehicles should undergo an extensive inspection to evaluate condition and select candidate vehicles for life cycle extensions, refurbishments and/or deletions."
Records obtained by ABC24 show that the department has a total of 2,344 units. This includes all vehicles, trailers and other things such as generators. That equates to roughly 41 percent of the entire City of Memphis fleet, which has a total of 5,766 units
Of MPD's 2,344 units, approximately 25 percent of those are 15 years old or more, some of which can be seen sitting in the North Washington parking garage downtown.
Some of those vehicles currently have less than 100,000 miles despite their 15 years old, or more.
The department's fleet has nearly 39 percent of its vehicles at 100,000 miles or more, in some cases triple that.
CRASHES
Another issue facing MPD's fleet is the recent uptick in crashes and the maintenance required after.
City of Memphis fleet management officials typically perform an estimated 80,000 repairs on city vehicles annually, according to their website.
The department's Lifecycle Policy reads, "Typically, a vehicle is considered by the industry to be a total loss if the repair estimate exceeds 70 percent of the vehicle's worth."
"If the owning division wishes to have the vehicle repaired and not deleted the Administrator or above assigned this unit should send an email to the service center requesting a repair cost to vehicle worth comparison be performed," the policy reads.
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MPD officials said during a city council public safety committee meeting that an audit was taking place for the department but that more cars were needed, particularly if cars were wrecked and needed to be repaired.
MPD officials did not respond to questions sent again Aug. 13, instead giving a statement.
"We are currently working with an outside vendor to get a full inventory of our fleet," the statement read in full.
Council member Rhonda Logan asked MPD officials during that Aug. 6 meeting about the recent crashes MPD officers had been in.
"What are we doing about [accidents] that are caused by the officers?," Logan asked. "I'm very concerned for officer safety and citizen safety. I know you said you need vehicles, but we keep buying vehicles and they keep getting wrecked."
MPD officials said that as of Monday, Aug. 11, officers have been at fault for 35 percent of the crashes they have been involved in during 2024.
MPD's cars have been involved in 168 total crashes during 2024, which is up from 152 crashes in 2023 during that same time period.
Officers have been at fault in 92 of those crashes during 2024, which is down from the 96 crashes they were at fault for during the same time period in 2023.
City of Memphis officials did not respond to requests for comment.