Across Memphis, every day, nearly 2000 Memphis Police officers patrol the streets and protect the public. Local 24’s Brad Broders buckled in with one officer, to bring you a rare, behind the scenes look at one shift start to finish, in one of the city’s most challenging precincts.
We learned firsthand how every shift in the Mt. Moriah precinct is relentless, diverse and unpredictable.
At 7:15 a.m., Officer Charlie Morrow rolls out after roll call. Officer Morrow is a 9-year MPD veteran and Mt. Moriah precinct’s Officer of The Year.
Minutes after we leave, dispatch buzzes in for a man down call.
“353, I’m in the area, where is the subject located?”
But when we get there, the man is gone.
At 8:00 a.m., our next stop, a two-car accident at Knight Arnold and Clearbrook. As paramedics arrive, Officer Morrow checked on one injured man.
“How are you doing sir, are you OK?” Officer Morrow asked.
Police said every shift includes several disturbance calls, including one such call at a McDonald’s at Getwell and I-240. That man eventually moved on, as did another woman at another part of Getwell.
“You got somewhere you can go?” Officer Morrow asked her. “It’s that easy, we can take you somewhere.”
Things were testier for Officer Morrow and his partner Officer Ken Walcott, as they came upon a dispute between a worker and customer at a wig shop on Mendenhall.
Officer Morrow and others diffuse another dispute outside a warehouse on Jet Cove, after reports of a large fight outside.
The day isn’t done.
After returning a lost elderly man to his family, Officer Morrow showed up to a man accused of wrecking an apartment in a rage.
“What’s going on?” Officer Morrow asked the man. “We can still hear you if you’re sitting down.”
That man is arrested and taken away as Officer Morrow’s shift winds down.
One shift is done, the next day, bringing new challenges and opportunities to make this particular section of Memphis a little safer.
