Tag: Memphis Police Department

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News The Fly-By

Memphis Police and Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Appoint LGBT Police Liaisons

In 2008, a surveillance video of a transgender Shelby County Jail inmate being beaten by police officers in the booking area of the jail sent shockwaves through the LGBT community.

Memphis Police officer Bridges McRae wrapped handcuffs around his fist and punched inmate Duanna Johnson in the head. He also used a chemical spray on Johnson, who later told the media that McRae called her “he/she” and “faggot.” McRae was later sentenced to two years in prison, but for some in the LGBT community, the distrust of police lingered.

“When you have situations like watching an officer beat a person in the jail, that carries a lot of weight. It’s hard to overcome that. It damages trust,” said Will Batts, director of the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center (MGLCC).

Now two police liaisons to the LGBT community — Davin Clemons from the Memphis Police Department (MPD) and Barbara Tolbert from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) — are hoping to restore that trust and ensure that their fellow officers are sensitive to LGBT issues.

It’s been more than a decade since the LGBT community has had a law enforcement liaison, and Batts said one is sorely needed.

“We needed somebody in the departments that we could refer people to, that they would feel safe being honest with,” Batts said.

An area of particular concern, Batts said, is the issue of same-sex domestic violence victims feeling comfortable opening up about their sexual orientation to police. He said police relations with the transgender community could be improved as well.

“Tennessee is the only state with a law against changing your gender marker on your birth certificate, and that puts you in conflict [with police] if your ID doesn’t match your appearance,” Batts said. “And it’s hard for transgender women of color to find adequate employment and housing, and they sometimes find themselves doing survival things that put them in conflict with the police department.”

But now, with the liaisons in place, if someone from the LGBT community has a negative interaction with police, they can turn to Clemons and Tolbert for help.

“If they feel violated or feel like the police are unsympathetic because of their sexual orientation, they can contact me,” said Clemons, who works with the MPD’s TACT Unit. “I will go through my chain of command and submit a memo and let my commanders know what has occurred.”

Clemons, an ordained elder at the Cathedral of Praise Church of Memphis, Inc., was already active in the equality movement before he was chosen for the liaison role. He’s a member of Clergy Defending Rights for All, which worked with the Tennessee Equality Project to push the non-discrimination ordinance for city workers that passed two years ago. He said he’ll help to educate his fellow officers on cultural sensitivity.

“I’m not trying to force sexual orientation on anyone. I’m just trying to make sure we uphold the oath that we took to be respectful of people’s cultures and their rights,” Clemons said. “I know I’ll get some backlash from some officers, but I think overall, most officers understand that Memphis is a melting pot, and we work with people who are same-gender-loving, white, black, Muslim, Asian, Hispanic. We have to respect the citizens we render services to.”

Tolbert, a detective in the SCSO Special Victims Unit, said part of their role as liaisons is simply to be a sympathetic ear.

“People just want to be heard. They want someone to listen to their concerns without any repercussions. I’m that person. They can discuss any matters with me and know they will not be judged,” Tolbert said.

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News The Fly-By

Fed Program Puts Little Military Gear in Memphis

CREDIT: Jackson Baker

Military fighting gear has made its way from the Department of Defense to the Memphis Police Department (MPD) over the past decade. But Mayor A C Wharton said the city has only “what we need” with access to more gear if a situation arises. 

When officers from the Ferguson Police Department in Missouri clashed with protesters there earlier this month, the nation got a good look at some of the gear that has flowed from the military to local police agencies over the past decade. Police in Ferguson drove armored vehicles, wore body armor, and pointed high-powered rifles at crowds of protestors. The sights made federal leaders uncomfortable, and they are promising action. 

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, of Memphis, demanded a House hearing on the militarization of police forces two weeks ago. U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, of Missouri, promised a similar Senate hearing next month. Obama administration officials said they will review the federal military surplus program and training programs that go with them.

Since 2004, MPD has received five automatic rifles, two boats, and two armored personnel carriers from the Defense Department’s 1033 surplus program, according to the Tennessee Department of General Services. 

Jackson Baker

Memphis Police don body armor for last year’s KKK rally.

MPD public information officer Sgt. Karen Rudolph said the M14 rifles are kept in storage and have never been used. 

The two bridge erection boats, she said, are “basic, flat-bottom, metal boats” that would be used to patrol the Mississippi River, the Port of Memphis, or to rescue passengers from a river boat. But the boats sit in surplus storage, she said.

The MPD’s two armored personnel carriers, which look basically like Army tanks, were built in 1979, Rudolph said, but the department has never used them since they arrived here in 2004. MPD has them, she said, if the need arose to carry officers into a dangerous zone with an active shooter. Also, the carriers’ tracks can travel over terrain too rough for trucks or ATVs. 

Wharton said he oversaw the acquisition of all of the surplus military gear here when he served as the district chair of the Tennessee Homeland Security Council. Though he said he “was a bit concerned about it” at the time, he didn’t see “what I would call excesses.”

“Perhaps [using military gear] ratchets things up, things that wouldn’t reach such a fever pitch if it weren’t for the introduction of that kind of foreboding, frightening equipment that makes folks want to take you on, quite frankly,” Wharton said. 

He preferred to keep police responses “toned down,” he said, but noted that the city could get more heavy response gear from neighboring communities if it was needed. 

But the show of force displayed last year during the Ku Klux Klan’s protest at the Shelby County Courthouse was anything but toned down. It was “overwhelming,” according to an on-the-scene report from Memphis Flyer reporter John Branston.

“There were hundreds of officers in riot gear, scores of vehicles, canine units, horse-mounted units, TACT units, armored vehicles, motorcycles, fire trucks, mobile command posts, and enough firepower to repel, or at least mount a fair challenge, to General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Virginia,” Branston reported.

Rudolph said she would not compare MPD officers to those in Fergurson but defended last year’s response.

“However, as seen during the KKK rally, the Memphis Police Department is adequately equipped with the personnel, equipment, and training needed to address any incident that may occur within our city,” she said. “Our primary goal is to keep our citizens safe.”

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News The Fly-By

Few Rebuked After Blue Flu, Red Rash

CREDIT: Toby Sells

So far, seven Memphis police officers and zero Memphis firefighters have been reprimanded for missing work during the Blue Flu and Red Rash protests last month.

Hundreds of public safety officers with the Memphis Police Department (MPD) and Memphis Fire Services Department (MFSD) called in sick during a two-week span that included the Independence Day holiday. The absences were part of an apparent protest over cuts to health-care benefits for current and retired city employees. At the heights of the separate protests, more than 550 officers and 80 firefighters called in sick. 

Toby Sells

Blue Flu at a news conference last month.

When the protest began, MPD Director Toney Armstrong said a process was in place to review those officers who called out during the work action. Corrective actions against any non-compliant officers absent during the time of the protest could range from an oral reprimand to termination, he said.     

Seven police officers have been reprimanded for absences during the Blue Flu time frame, according to MPD public information officer Sgt. Karen Rudolph. Statements of charges against the officers are pending approval, she said, and range from abusing the sick leave policy and missing court dates to not being at the location where they stated they’d spend their sick day.

“It is important that you understand that these officers are being presented with a statement of charges for these violations only; they should in no way be mentioned as ‘officers involved with the Blue Flu,'” Rudolph said in a statement. “These officers were off sick during this time period; however, it was not determined that these officers were off in order to participate with a work action such as the ‘Blue Flu.'”

Memphis Police Association President Michael Williams said he was not aware of a single reprimand to any Memphis police officer related to the Blue Flu protest. 

“I know that all of those guys had to have the right documentation to be able to come back to work,” Williams said.

Alvin Benson, director of Memphis Fire Services Division, said he did not see a “noticeable spike” in sick days among Memphis firefighters as Blue Flu began. But as it waned, a similar action, the so-called Red Rash, began in his shop. At its height, though, only about 80 MFSD employees had called out sick.

MFSD spokesperson Lt. Wayne Cooke said no reprimands related to the Red Rash have been served on MFSD employees. He said when employees call in sick, each instance is evaluated separately. If the absence doesn’t adhere to the city’s leave policy, action is taken.

“In the case of the recent spike in illnesses, at this point, no disciplinary action has been warranted,” Cooke said. “All absences, though some suspicious, were within existing policy and supported by required documentation.”

The cuts that spurred the work action and other protests were part of Mayor A C Wharton’s budget for the year and were passed by the Memphis City Council. Savings from those cuts are to help patch the massive hole in the city pension fund. 

Since the budget was passed, alternatives to the health-care cuts have come forward. Actuaries are now checking the figures in a new, high-deductible health-care plan brought to the council from the Memphis Fire Fighters Association.

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Memphis Gaydar News

Meet Memphis’ New LGBT Police Liaisons

Police-cap-and-truncheon-on-rainbow-suface-ripple.jpg

Local law enforcement has assigned two officers to act as liaisons to the LGBT community.

Detective Barbara Tolbert of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and Officer Davin Clemons of the Memphis Police Department will be on-hand at the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center (892 S. Cooper) on Thursday, Aug. 21st at 6:30 p.m.

The meeting is intended to be “a safe place where members of the LGBTQ community can express concerns candidly or ask questions pertaining to any past or current issues that are related to our local law enforcement authorities,” according to the MGLCC announcement about the meeting.

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News News Blog

Former MPD Officer Charged With Sexual Battery, Son Indicted For Mother’s Murder

Meekose Evans

  • Meekose Evans

A former Memphis Police officer is facing felony charges and years in prison for sexual battery.

Meekose Evans, 30, was indicted on sexual battery this week stemming from an incident in which a motorist said she was groped during a traffic stop in Whitehaven, according to the Shelby County District Attorney General’s office.

A woman said Evans stopped her on February 11th in Whitehaven because her tag lights were out. He later discovered her driver’s license was suspended.

The woman said Evans told her to follow him to an isolated area at the nearby Hillcrest Apartments. She said he then put her in the back of his squad car and asked what she would do for him to avoid getting a ticket.

Evans allegedly requested the woman to expose her breasts and began fondling them. The woman reported the incident to the MPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau and identified Evans in a photo spread.

Evans has also been indicted on charges of official misconduct and official oppression. The charges are felonies that carry one to six years in prison.

Evans was terminated in June from the MPD. He’s scheduled to be in Criminal Court on August 21st. He is presently free on $20,000 bond.

Son Indicted For Mother’s Murder

Alexandre Kim, a 24-year-old Cordova man, was indicted this week on first-degree murder charges in the death of his mother.

On October 7th, 2012, Estelle Carron Kim, was found beaten and strangled inside her burned-out home at 9019 Higden Cove, according to the Shelby County District Attorney General’s office. The 51-year-old woman was a former French teacher at Hutchison School.

Following officers’ arrival to the house, her son, Alexandre, walked up to the scene and told officers he left his mother at the home earlier and had left to get something to eat.

However, officers noticed blood on his clothing and noted that Kim became nervous, according to reports. In addition to that, a witness informed investigators Kim had walked to the house before the fire, left a short time later wearing different clothes, and that the house caught fire about 10 minutes after he left.

Kim is being held without bond. A court date has not been set.

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News News Blog

MPD Director Armstrong, Mayor Wharton Comment On Bloody Beale Street Video

Screen_shot_2014-08-11_at_4.06.24_PM.png

Footage of a man, unconscious and lying in a pool of blood on Memphis’ world-renowned Beale Street, has gone viral.

Around 2 a.m. Sunday, August 10th, Johnathan Parker was discovered with blood flowing from his head and his pants pulled down past his knees. A video posted online displays several people standing around Parker as they record him with their cell phones. But what’s not shown in the video is anyone contacting 911 or alerting law enforcement.

So far, the video has been shared more than 1,800 times on Facebook.

According to the Memphis Police Department (MPD) report taken at the scene, Parker was discovered by law enforcement around 2:25 a.m., unconscious and bleeding from the head.

After he gained consciousness, an officer spoke to Parker, who was reportedly inebriated. The victim provided his name and replied “I’m straight” when asked what happened. He wouldn’t tell officers what happened or who hurt him. Due to Parker’s intoxication, officers were unable to gather enough information to produce a full report.

Following the interview, Parker was transported to the Regional Medical Center in critical condition. He was later upgraded to non-critical condition.

“At this time, it is not clear if this individual was in a fight or if he passed out or fell,” read a statement provided by MPD’s Sgt. Karen Rudolph. “According to the report on file, this individual was intoxicated and was unable to provide any information pertaining to a fight. I spoke with the South Main Station supervisor who advised that investigators followed up with the victim, who is currently in non-critical condition at Regional One, who advised that he doesn’t remember what happened.

“I checked with Communications regarding possible calls for help in connection with this incident and was advised that no calls were received from citizens on the scene. Officers who were in the area conducted a self-initiated call to Communications advising that they located one male down and additional officers were needed. Officers were not neglectful in responding to this call due to the fact that they never received a call.”

Rudolph’s statement acknowledged that this is an ongoing investigation; investigators are checking for any additional video that may have been captured. It stated that MPD are following up with several postings that have been placed on Facebook. Anyone with footage that shows an actual fight or any additional footage that may assist with this investigation are encouraged to forward it to the MPD’s PIO Office (pio@memphistn.gov).

MPD director Toney Armstrong provided his take on the incident: “It is disheartening to see an injured person laying on the ground with spectators capturing photos and video; but not calling for assistance,” stated Director Armstrong. “MPD Communications did not receive a call concerning this wounded individual; however, officers who were assigned to Beale Street responded immediately once they witnessed a large crowd and a man down. This is an ongoing investigation and we are trying to put the pieces together to determine what actually occurred.”

Mayor A C Wharton, Jr. has also released a statement in response to the incident, labeling it “a truly regrettable situation all the way around.”

“I guess I’m not so shocked by the fact that even in a city known for helping people in need that a person in obvious distress would not be immediately assisted by those who saw the situation,” Wharton said. “I’m reminded that even in the Biblical story of the Good Samaritan, two people passed by the man on the roadside bleeding before the Samaritan stopped to help. What is, however, more upsetting to so many of us is that instead of ignoring this individual’s need for help, some people actually stopped and took the time to use their phones to record the incident. These are the same phones that people could have used to call for help given that the initial team of Memphis Police Officers arrived on the scene despite having not received a report of the incident.”

The police report taken at the scene can be read below. And click here to view footage of the incident.

On 08/10/2014 at 02:25 hours, Officer N Payne (12593) reported a ‘Precinct GIB’ memo at 877 Jefferson Ave where victim Johnathan Parker was transported by MFD #11 from Beale St in critical condition. Officers on Beale St. found a male unconscious bleeding from the head. Officer Payne spoke to the victim, that smelled strongly of intoxicants. The victim only provided his name. Officers had to research the victim’s name in Shelby County wasp system to identify him. Officers asked the victim Johnathan Parker what happened he only replied, “I’m straight.” The victim would not tell officers what happened, or who hurt him. The victim Johnathan Parker was under a state of intoxication that prevented officers from gathering enough information to produce a full report. Officer captured photos of the victim’s injuries. The nurse Kerry Lyons, PACE RN advised his condition was non critical. A supervisor, Lt. Tucker (5605) was advised. There was no crime scene. There is video on Beale St, but it was not immediately available.

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News The Fly-By

Major Crimes Are Down

Jonathan Woods is a resident of Frayser, an area identified as one of the city’s criminal hotspots by law enforcement. And he knows all too well about his neighborhood’s crime problem.

Last year, he lost a friend to gun violence in Frayser, and he acknowledges frequently hearing about various crimes taking place in his community. However, he said he hasn’t personally been a crime victim since moving to the area in 2011.

“You always hear little stories about how rough it is, how the crime is, but it’s not really that bad,” Woods said. “You hear occasional gun shots that make you feel a little nervous but other than that, the neighbors are fine … the people I run across, I haven’t had any problems with them. It’s all in how you make it and how you live.”

According to Memphis Police Department (MPD) data, some of the crimes that plague Frayser and other areas of the city have slightly decreased compared to the same time period last year.

From January 1st to July 22nd of this year, there have been 25,739 “part-one” crimes, which include criminal homicides, aggravated assaults, forcible rapes, robberies, thefts, and burglaries. In 2013, over the same time period, 26,580 such crimes occurred.

Michelle Fowlkes, executive director of the Memphis-Shelby County Crime Commission, said Operation: Safe Community, a crime-reduction initiative that launched in late 2006, has played a significant role in decreasing the presence of part-one crimes.

Using various research-backed, data-driven strategies, the initiative aims to influence reductions in five areas: violence in the home, drug and gang crime, blight and property crime, adult repeat offenders, and youth violence. According to Operation: Safe Community data, from 2007 to 2011, the initiative has helped reduce major violent crime by 22.8 percent and major property crime by 25.5 percent.

“We still have a lot of work to do, but I feel, overall, we will continue to decrease crime,” Fowlkes said. “If you look at the crime numbers of 2006 and you compare them to last year, we are still reducing crime significantly. We’re nowhere near where we were at that period of time.”

According to Operation: Safe Community’s monthly crime report, in 2006, from January 1st to June 30th, there were 86 murders, 208 forcible rapes, 3,956 aggravated assaults, and 2,529 robberies in Memphis. Over the same time frame in 2014, there have been 69 murders, 172 forcible rapes, 3,752 aggravated assaults, and 1,569 robberies.

Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich said the reduction in part-one crimes is “a step in the right direction” and showcases successful efforts by law enforcement, such as data-driven policing, and the effect of the legislature strengthening violent crime and gun laws.

Weirich said citizens could also contribute to lowering crime by simply being “a good neighbor.”

“If you witness something that you think is suspicious, pick up the phone and call the police,” Weirich said. “They’d much rather get that phone call than the phone call when somebody gets home and finds out their home has been burglarized.”

Woods said he thinks providing at-risk youth with more outlets and activities could have an impact on their futures and could also improve their communities.

“The more stuff you can have for the kids to do, the better,” Woods said. “Everything may not work, but at least you’re trying. If the kids feel like you’re trying, they’ll start to try.”

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Letter From The Editor Opinion

Letter from the Editor: Split the Baby

I got several calls from Memphis Police and Fire Department employees this week. They were all angry about the proposed cuts and changes to their pension and health-care plans and wanted the Flyer to “tell the truth” about the situation.

The core truth is that the city — as mandated by the state — needs to find a way to pay down its pension obligations in five years. It can do this by cutting costs, raising revenues (taxes), or a combination of the two.

The proposal at hand would turn the current guaranteed pension plan for city employees into a 401k plan. It would also reduce benefits and/or raise the costs of health care for current employees and retirees.

The Memphis City Council majority is determined not to raise property taxes, come hell or high water, the stated rationale being that it will motivate people to leave Memphis. The 6,000 police and fire personnel and other city employees contend that they are being asked to carry the entire burden of fixing the budget mess for the rest of us.

The council has gotten support for its “no new taxes” position from the Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce (COC), which launched a campaign against any tax hike. A counter-campaign has sprung up, urging citizens not to patronize businesses that are COC members.

And speaking of hell and high water… one fireman I spoke to alluded to certain “measures” that could be taken to demonstrate how important his department is to the city. He was referencing the rumors that have been circulating for a week or so about a “sick-out” over the Fourth of July weekend.

A sick-out of fire and police personnel on a holiday weekend filled with fireworks and massive downtown crowds would be a PR disaster for both departments, in my opinion, and would only harden the views on both sides of the issue. Especially, if there were a fire or a crime that caused the loss of life due to a lack of response.

That said, taking away promised health benefits, especially from retirees on a fixed pension is just wrong. And remember, these employees don’t get Social Security, so their pension is it when it comes to supporting themselves in their old age.

I’m quite obviously not an expert in city finances, and Lord knows the city has spent enough on consultants and experts to cover my retirement quite nicely. But surely there is a baby to be split here somewhere. A small tax increase isn’t going to send people fleeing en masse. And the switch to a 401k plan isn’t going be the end of the world for city employees.

We need to keep and attract highly qualified police and fire department personnel. A fear of not being safe will send as many people fleeing the city as a tax increase will. It’s time to make a deal — before things get even hotter.

Bruce VanWyngarden

brucev@memphisflyer.com

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News The Fly-By

Documentary Highlights MPD’s 1948 Integration

More than half of the Memphis Police Department (MPD) is made up of African-American officers, but that wasn’t always the case.

In 1948, the MPD welcomed its first nine publicized black officers. The historic occurrence is profiled in a new documentary titled True Blue — Memphis Lawmen of 1948.

The Earnest C. Withers Foundation along with the Afro American Police Association and Cinematic Arts collectively premiered the documentary last weekend at the University of Memphis.

Ernest Withers

Andrew “Rome” Withers, son of famed Civil Rights-era photographer Earnest Withers, who was also one of the first nine black officers, said the documentary profiles the historic feat of the officers and the struggles they experienced.

“Most of them, when they were hired, had to buy their own guns” Withers said. “Their roll call was on Beale Street, separate from the white officers. The pay was different. And, of course, they could not arrest white people at all. They could only detain them until a white officer came.”

True Blue takes a trip through time to highlight the controversial integration of the MPD and how things have changed since then. The documentary focuses on two of the surviving members of the class of 1948, Jerry Williams and Roscoe McWilliams.

The first nine black MPD officers in 1948

True Blue reveals how the MPD’s black officers of 1948 were hired in the first place. After several African-Americans had been severely beaten and shot by white police officers, local residents became enraged. A community meeting was held by Memphis Mayor E.H. Crump, who promised to provide the black community with their own parks and recreational facilities to ease concerns about police brutality. However, one woman stood up and expressed that they would like black policemen instead.

Crump concurred, and African-Americans were allowed to apply for the police force. Out of 160-plus applicants, nine officers were hired. Several more came on board a couple weeks later. They were assigned to patrol the areas of Beale Street and Orange Mound.

Although it’s been publicized that the first black Memphis police officers were hired in 1948, the documentary conveys that there were actually two other classes before them.

One class of black officers was introduced during the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1878, and the other was in 1919. But according to the MPD’s History Timeline, the first two black men to serve with the MPD, William Cook and John F. Harris, were hired in 1867.

Others who participated in the documentary include MPD Director Toney Armstrong, the wives of Wendell Robinson and R.J. Turner (two of the first nine black officers), and Claudine Penn (the city’s first black female police officer).

Withers said the documentary will be submitted to film festivals around the world, and he hopes a major TV network will broadcast it. They also plan to show True Blue in Shelby County Schools.

“It’s an intriguing story that I think will appeal to people who do not know about Memphis history,” Withers said. “We don’t get enough of our history, so I’m hoping that [True Blue] will appeal to the community and we will get support to continue to make feature films about different aspects of Memphis that are unidentified and unknown. [The film] will bring hope and identification of history that’s never been told before. Not just for us but for generations to come.”

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News The Fly-By

Memphis Police and Fire Consider Moving Offices

CREDIT: Toby Sells

The Memphis Police Department (MPD) headquarters is “crowded and costly.” The Memphis Division of Fire Services headquarters has a nice river view and is “not the highest and best use of the property.” The two departments could cut costs for taxpayers by moving in together and sharing some back-office staffers. 

Toby Sells

Those ideas come from the city’s five-year strategic management plan published in January by the PFM Group consultants. The real estate ideas have come back into focus recently, as the Memphis City Council considers a deal to take over the Donnelly J. Hill State Office Building.

The building is worth about about $2.4 million, and the state would hand over its title to the city for the use of 400 parking spots in the Peabody Place garage for the next 15 years.

The city now has eight leases for office space around town. It pays about $3 million each year in rent to provide office space for about 460 employees. Real estate consultants have told councilmembers they could consolidate many of these offices into the Donnelly building on Civic Plaza, including the Memphis Housing Authority, Housing and Community Development, and Information Technology. 

But much of the conversation on the state building has at least touched on moving MPD. The department is now housed on three floors of the Shelby County Criminal Justice Complex, more commonly known as 201 Poplar. MPD moved there in 1982 but quickly outgrew it. Complaints about space constraints have come from former police directors James Bolden and Larry Godwin and current director Toney Armstrong.     

“Honestly, I think we have outgrown 201 Poplar,” Armstrong told councilmembers in budget discussions in 2012. “We have been able to grow at the uniform patrol level but not at the investigative level, simply because we don’t have the space for it.”

The cost to rent the currently cramped space is $1.4 million per year. That’s way too high, according to the consultant’s five-year plan. At the end of 2012, the average rate for Class A office space — the very best office space — in downtown Memphis was $16.75 per square foot, according to the city’s consultants. Taxpayers are leasing the MPD space in 201 Poplar for about $17.70 per square foot. 

The fire department has largely been left out of the recent conversations about office moves and consolidation, but the PFM report said its Front Street location is “not ideal” and is in “what could be a prime location for development.” 

The five-year plan said that Memphis police and fire should consolidate some of their office functions, and even communications, to save money. And, it said, sharing a physical location would help do just that.

But the Donnelley building wasn’t on the table in January when the five-year plan was published. Instead, the plan said the city should renovate the old police headquarters at 128 Adams, which has been vacant for the past 30 years. 

The renovation price tag of about $30 million puts the project out of reach, the city’s Chief Administrative Officer George Little has said in past budget discussions.

Consultants said the cost would be offset by eliminating rents in other places or could be paid from the sale of the fire department headquarters on Front Street. Or, the report, said 128 Adams could be sold to a private developer.