Memphis Mayor Paul Young is getting community pushback for his refusal to sign off on a U.S. Department of Justice consent decree spurred by a report detailing police brutality. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
Memphis advocacy groups are urging city leaders to sign a federal consent decree to reform the city’s police department after a federal investigation found officers there engage in violent and unconstitutional behavior, mainly toward Black residents.
Mayor Paul Young is not heeding those requests, even though he acknowledges the Department of Justice report on Memphis police tactics is hard to stomach. Much of Young’s opposition centers on the cost of federal legal settlements designed to clear up the problem, which appears to be officers who want to “whup up” on disobedient teens and disabled adults.
The report shows mainly that Memphis police officers will beat the crap out of anyone who refuses to do what they say immediately or shows the slightest hint of disrespect.