Memphis Safe Task Force agents are engaging in a “startling pattern of retaliation, intimidation, and harassment” against bystanders who record their activities, a federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union alleges.
Filed Wednesday on behalf of four Memphis residents who have suffered pushback after observing and documenting the multi-agency law enforcement crackdown, the lawsuit seeks a ruling declaring the agents’ actions violate the First Amendment. The lawsuit is also seeking an order barring Task Force agents from retaliating against people for gathering information or recording task force activities in the future.
The suit also seeks a court order preventing agents from invoking a Tennessee statute giving law enforcement the authority to order observers to stand 25 feet away. The law is frequently used to prevent observers from documenting task force activities, it stated…