In recent developments connected to the Memphis Safe Task Force operations, 11 individuals have been brought up on federal charges, as disclosed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. This roundup of indictments for assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal officers comes after U.S. Attorney Mike Dunavant highlighted the presumption of innocence for the defendants until proven guilty. Details from a news release, which Action News 5 has reported on, illustrate the chain of altercations that led to the charges. Among the accused is Luis Cordova, tackled for allegedly running a red light and attempting to flee when officers discovered he was driving without a valid license.
The Memphis Safe Task Force has notably achieved significant operational milestones since it began, one being the location of 121 missing children, the arrest of over 3,100 individuals, including 327 who were identified as “known gang members,” and the confiscation of 501 firearms. With a strong stance on law enforcement protections, U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi made a decisive statement earlier in the task force’s endeavor: “We want cops to be cops again. You can go out there, and you can do your job, and our U.S. Attorney is here, and we are going to charge anyone federally, and we are going to go tell all of the officers soon that if you touch a police officer, you will be arrested. If you touch a federal officer, it will be assaulting a federal officer. We’re going to do everything we can to protect you so you can protect the citizens of Memphis.” This quote was documented by FOX13 Memphis.
Charges against the individuals include a wide range of infractions from evading arrest to violent encounters with officers. Notably, among these incidents reported by WBBJTV, Christopher Vanzant, 53, stands accused of striking a Tennessee Highway Patrol vehicle while fleeing and assaulting a federal officer; Justin Hardaway, 26, was charged after a hair-raising pursuit where his abandoned vehicle nearly hit a group of children; and Sanchon Dillup-Jones, 36, allegedly dragged a trooper with his car during an attempted arrest…