MEMPHIS, Tenn. — During a press conference Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said no criminal charges will be coming for the Memphis Police officers involved in the shooting death of 20-year-old Jaylin McKenzie in December 2022.
While Mulroy said charges wouldn't be coming, he also said there were multiple discrepancies in the officers' official statements, and department policies.
Mulroy stated during the press conference the body camera video of the incident confirms McKenzie fired an assault rifle at officers, and would have fired a handgun at them had it not jammed.
The chase and shooting
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said just before midnight on Dec. 16, 2022, MPD made a traffic stop on American Way and the driver took off and ended up in a grassy area off Cochese Ave. The TBI said at least three people took off running. The TBI said an MPD officer and McKenzie exchanged gunfire, and McKenzie was killed.
The video release
Mulroy's Office released video Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, of the shooting that left Jaylin McKenzie dead.
The D.A. said the three redacted videos are from in-car camera of a police patrol car and body-worn cameras from two additional officers. The D.A.'s office said McKenzie’s family has viewed the footage. In August, McKenzie's mother held a news conference in Memphis demanding the TBI and MPD name the responding officers involved and to see her son's complete autopsy report. McKenzie’s mother said her son was visiting Memphis from Atlanta at the time of his death.
Mulroy said the officers violated MPD policy by starting a high-speed chase over a traffic violation, and also had multiple discrepancies in their reports after the shooting.
Mulroy also said a supervising officer violated policy by placing the two officers together in a squad car after the shooting, instead of separating them, allowing them to talk about the facts of the chase, which is also against policy. Mulroy said MPD Chief C.J. Davis agreed the officers violated policy, and changes would be made.
"I hope that this entire dialogue can lead to improvements in officer conduct and I believe that Chief Davis is working precisely on that," Mulroy said.
MPD response
MPD released a statement Tuesday evening, Sept. 26 saying they are "pleased with the DA's decision."
The statement went on to say Rookie Officer Nahume Dorme did not have his body camera activated, however veteran Officer Christopher Jackson did. MPD said the "reason to pursue was not a violation," but neither officer notified their immediate supervisor about the pursuit after it began or activated the siren in their patrol car.
MPD said Officer Dorme received a written reprimand for administrative violations and he refresher training on the body camera and vehicle pursuit policies. They said Officer Jackson received a written reprimand for violating pursuit policy and refresher training on the policy.
MPD said Lt. Mark Gilbertson was the first responding supervisor, and while he separated the officers from the public, he failed to separate the two officers from each other. Because of that, MPD said Lt. Gilbertson "will receive an oral admonishment and receive refresher critical incident management training."