Chris McCoy
Memphis activist P. Moses before a march.
The officers who shot Martavious Banks in the back as he fled Monday night should be immediately indicted on attempted first degree murder charges, said a Black Lives Matter activist Thursday. 
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Martavious Banks
Banks was shot in the back during a traffic stop Monday night. The officers who shot Banks turned off their body cameras before the shooting. The incident is now under investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Banks remains in critical condition at Regional One Health.
Pamela Moses, the founder of Rise Up Memphis and Black Lives Matter Memphis known as P. Moses, gathered with the family of Banks on Gil Street, where the traffic stop occurred, Thursday morning. She said Banks had had “threatening contact” with the officers who pulled him over and was fleeing the scene in self defense.
She called the officers, “two known criminals in the Memphis Police Department (MPD).” The officers took the law into their own hands, she said, and meted out justice “without the benefit of a trial or due process,” which goes against MPD policy, the Constitution, and state law.
“There was no trial that took place here on Gil Street,” Moses said.
She said “today we will hold the responsible accountable.” With that, she the officers who shot Banks should be indicted on attempted first-degree murder. If Banks dies, Moses suggested that charge be immediately elevated to first-degree murder.
