The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) will close its investigation of the Memphis Police Department (MPD).
In December, the DOJ found that the MPD uses excessive force, conducts unlawful stops, searches, and arrests, unlawfully discriminates against Black people when enforcing the law, and unlawfully discriminates in their response to people with behavioral health disabilities.
The DOJ was then controlled by President Joe Biden, and the announcement came after the election of President Donald Trump. Speculation at the time figured Trump would likely drop the investigation.
The DOJ said Wednesday it will also retract ”the Biden Administration’s findings of constitutional violations on the part of” the MPD and other police departments across the country.
”The department is confident that the vast majority of police officers across the nation will continue to vigorously enforce the law and protect the public in full compliance with the Constitution and all applicable federal laws,” reads a statement from a news release issued Wednesday morning. “When bad actors in uniform fail to do so, the department stands ready to take all necessary action to address any resulting constitutional or civil-rights violations, including via criminal prosecution.”
Ben Crump, attorney for the family of Tyre Nichols, said the move is “attempting to erase truth and contradicting the very principles for which justice stands.”
“This decision is a slap in the face to the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Tyre Nichols, and to every community that has endured the trauma of police violence and the false promises of accountability,” Crump said in a statement. “These consent decrees and investigations were not symbolic gestures, they were lifelines for communities crying out for change, rooted in years of organizing, suffering, and advocacy.
“These moves will only deepen the divide between law enforcement and the people they are sworn to protect and serve. Trust is built with transparency and accountability, not with denial and retreat.”
