The U.S. Department of Justice said Friday morning it was ending its federal review of the Memphis Police Department, but by the afternoon the federal agency reversed its stance , saying the review is now back on track.
In a series of press releases that began mid-morning, the city and federal authorities made announcements and counter-announcements about the status of the review by the Justice Department's Community Oriented Policing Services initiative. By the end of the exchange, Ursula Madden, chief communications officer for Mayor Jim Strickland, said city officials were "shocked" by the DOJ's initial announcement, adding that the whole process was "frustrating."
"On their (DOJ) end, we don't know what happened," Madden told the Commercial Appeal.
Madden's characterization of the situation came about the time the Department of Justice announced its reversal from earlier that it was withdrawing from the cooperative effort with the city.
