DOJ Report Says Memphis Police Violated Constitution, Used Excessive Force

The Memphis Police Department engaged in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law, the Justice Department said Wednesday, following a 17-month investigation.

The investigation found MPD uses excessive force, conducts unlawful stops, searches and arrests and unlawfully discriminates against black people when enforcing the law. DOJ said the City and MPD unlawfully discriminate in their response to people with behavioral health disabilities, WREG reports.

The Justice Department also identified serious concerns about MPD’s treatment of children, and identified deficiencies in policy, training, supervision and accountability that contribute to MPD’s and the City’s unlawful conduct, DOJ said in a news release.

The announcement came just as the city said in a letter that it would not enter into a consent decree with the DOJ over its policing practices.

“After evaluating the effects of these consent decrees in other cities, we believe there are better ways to reimagine policing that do not slow the process or cost the taxpayers millions of dollars,” the letter from the city stated.