US federal probe finds Memphis police discriminate against African Americans

HOUSTON -- Federal investigators have found the Memphis Police Department (MPD) has unlawfully discriminated against African Americans, said the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in an investigation report on Wednesday.

"Memphis police officers regularly violate the rights of the people they are sworn to serve," said the report on key findings of a civil rights investigation launched in July 2023, about six months after a Black man called Tyre Nichols, aged 29, was fatally beaten by five then MPD officers who tried to arrest him at a traffic stop.

"They rapidly escalate encounters, including (at) traffic stops, and use excessive force even when people are already handcuffed or restrained. They resort to intimidation and threats," said the report.

The DOJ report also found the MPD has unlawfully discriminated in their response to people with behavioral health disabilities, Axios reported.

Memphis City Attorney Tannera George Gibson argued in a letter to DOJ officials that "the investigation and unreleased findings only took 17 months to complete, compared to an average of two to three years in almost every other instance, implying a rush to judgment."

The DOJ under the Biden administration has reportedly launched 12 probes into police misconduct but so far none has resulted in consent decrees, or court-ordered reforms, said the Axios report.