Memphis city officials are back in the legal spotlight as two civil-rights organizations accuse them of slamming the door on public access to police records that could show whether long-promised reforms ever happened.
Stand for Children Tennessee and the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against the City of Memphis and the Memphis Police Department on Feb. 24, 2026, alleging the city unlawfully denied a public-records request submitted in May 2025. The groups say they asked for routine MPD documents that would reveal whether the department changed its use-of-force policies and internal practices after a federal review, and that a blanket denial is blocking the public from seeing if reforms pledged after a Justice Department probe were actually carried out.
What the lawsuit demands
The complaint asks a court to order the release of use-of-force reports, response-to-resistance forms, internal investigation memos, and policy documents that advocates describe as standard police records. The request is part of a coordinated records push in seven states that aims to track what, if anything, changed after Department of Justice investigations.
As detailed by Stand for Children Tennessee, the original records demand went in back in May 2025. Months later, advocates say, they are still empty-handed and now want a judge to step in.
DOJ findings and the federal task force
The entire case is set against the backdrop of a December 4, 2024, finding by the Justice Department that the Memphis Police Department engaged in a pattern or practice of excessive force, unlawful stops, and racial discrimination, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. That report triggered promises of reform from city leaders and police brass…