Tag: Memphis Police Department

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Memphis Police Accidentally Arrest An Officer

Edrick Braxton

  • Edrick Braxton

File this one under “Oops!” On Tuesday, Memphis Police officers accidentally arrested one of their own. Officer Edrick Braxton was mistakenly arrested on a warrant for aggravated burglary when his fingerprints were lifted from the scene of a crime.

But turns out Braxton’s prints were there because he made the scene when Antavious Christopher called police on March 17th regarding a burglary on Mickey Drive. Christopher had seen someone inside his neighbor’s home and called for help. Braxton made the scene and arrested two suspects.

But other officers dusting for prints lifted Braxton’s from a lawn mower, and an arrest warrant was issued. Braxton was arrested Tuesday and charged with aggravated burglary. He was later released and the warrant was recalled. A spokesperson for the MPD said Braxton’s prints were on the lawn mower because he touched the item while working the crime scene.

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Out with Godwin, In with Armstrong

Toney Armstrong

  • Toney Armstrong

New Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong was sworn in this morning in a ceremony in the Memphis City Council Chambers at City Hall.

Armstrong, a 22-year-veteran of the MPD, promised to focus on strengthening the relationship between police officers and community members, while continuing the technology-driven policing methods instituted by outgoing director Larry Godwin.

“Toney doesn’t have to deal with what I had to deal with. We weren’t just dealing with crime going up. We had all these other issues to deal with. We had personnel issues. We had folks over here that were civilians and making as much [money] as the chief. We had folks that we didn’t even know what they did. We had promotional issues,” Godwin told the Flyer in an exit interview last month. “He doesn’t have any of that. He has a crime plan that’s the best in the country. All he has to do is keep doing what he’s doing.”

Armstrong joined the MPD in 1989, after serving three years as an Army Field Artillery Specialist. He was first assigned to the West Precinct (now known as Union Station), and in 1991, he began working undercover. Later, Armstrong was moved into the role of investigator in the Organized Crime Unit and then as a sergeant in the robbery bureau.

He’s perhaps best known for his role as supervisor of the homicide unit on A&E’s The First 48. In that role, Armstrong worked on the infamous Lester Street Murder case and eventually led the unit to an 87 percent solve rate, the highest its ever seen. In 2008, Armstrong was promoted to the rank of commander of the homicide unit. From there, he went on to the role of colonel of downtown’s uniform patrol, deputy chief of uniform patrol, and deputy director. He was named to the top cop role in March, shortly after Godwin announced his retirement.

“I think [Toney’s] positioned to sort of go the next step,” said Dr. Richard Janikowski, associate professor in the University of Memphis Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. “The [former] sheriff, Mark [Luttrell], once said, when the house is on fire, that’s what you’ve got to concentrate on, putting the fire out. Then you can start looking at the electrical wiring.”

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Memphis Police “Crime of the Week”

mpdbadge.gif

Every week, the Memphis Police Department alerts the media of a major unsolved crime that requires assistance from the public to solve. People are urged to call Crime Stoppers at 528-CASH, submit an online tip here, or text tips by sending “AWARD” to 274637. If the tip leads to an arrest, the tipster may be eligible to receive up to $1,000.

The Memphis Police are seeking a suspect in the murder of 60-year-old Adam Clayton. Clayton’s body was discovered around 8:20 p.m. on Saturday, March 5th wrapped in a blanket near the area of Plant and Boxtown Roads near T.O. Fuller State Park. Clayton had a wound on his head. Police were alerted to come to the area through a 911 call. The MPD’s Homicide Unit is seeking tips on a possible suspect.

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Director Godwin’s Looking For Him — and We Found Him: MPD Enforcer’s Dirk Diggler!

by DEREK HAIRE

In what appears to be an attempt to silence his critics, Memphis Police
Director Larry Godwin has filed an interstate subpoena for discovery against
the owner of the blog MPD Enforcer 2.0, an anonymous website geared toward and
run by current and former members of the Memphis Police Department. The
anonymous Google Blogspot site has, for the last four months, served as a sort
of online water cooler where Memphis’ uniformed patrol officers can voice
their anonymous discontent with the leadership of MPD, whoM they collectively
refer to as “the 12th Floor.”

The MPD Enforcer 2.0 quickly became a clearinghouse of unreported or
unpublished stories of interest to Memphis police officers, in part thanks to
its name. In the 1990s a paper version of the MPD Enforcer was circulated
among Memphis Police by hand. Later, during the dawning days of the internet,
an online version appeared on the Geocities website.

Today, the MPD Enforcer 2.0, written and maintained by a group of people with
no connection to the original paper version of the Enforcer, enjoys new life
on Google’s Blogspot website, where anyone within or without the MPD can
publish whatever they like without fear of recrimination. The only method of
contacting the current administrator of the Enforcer 2.0, who operates under
the pseudonym Dirk Diggler, is via his AOL email address, and he agreed to an
email interview with the Memphis Flyer under the condition that his identity
remained secret.

Q: How did you find out about the subpoena? Was it through a friend, an
email tip, a letter from AOL, etc?

A: AOL sent an email to us and included a copy of the subpoena.

Q: Since you started the blog, have you had any contact with or endorsement
from the writers of the original MPD Enforcer, or are you working
independently of them?

A: Since starting the blog, we have had someone contact us and claimed to
be the author of the original Enforcer. They praised us for keeping up the
good fight and gave a general endorsement. To the best of our knowledge, they
have not contributed. We accept tips from a numerous amount of anonymous
resources.

Q: What contact, if any, have you had with AOL about your account since
July 11? Have they given you any indication that they intend to comply with
the subpoena?

A: AOL only contacted us after receiving the subpoena. AOL gave us a limited
amount of time to respond and we are currently seeking legal counsel. Further,
we are consulting with the Justice Department to see if there is a possible
“color of law” violation being committed by Director Godwin.

Q: Have you received any threatening or harassing emails from self-identified
members of MPD?

A: We have never received any threatening or harassing e-mails from anyone.
All communications have been positive and congratulatory. On the other hand,
we have received numerous troubling comments on the blog. It appeared to be
nothing more that the administration trying to disrupt our public forum. We
had to lock down the comments section, but that issue was resolved.

Q: In your opinion, why do you think Director Godwin is trying to out you?
Do you think it is connected to a particular story or blog post?

A: We feel that Director Godwin is trying to put an end to our blog because it
exposes the intimate secrets of the administration. I would like to make this
perfectly clear. The blog and comments posted have nothing to do with the
person Larry Godwin. The aim is at the direction of the police department and
the decline in morale. The public position of the Director’s office makes it
fair game for any citizen to comment on. If there was another person in the
Director’s office that was steering the ship towards the rocky reef, every man
or woman on that boat would voice an opinion. We provide the location for
anonymous “venting” and will continue to do so until the internet is no longer
available.

Q: Has the subpoena changed your attitude toward blogging? If you are outed,
will you continue to write?

A: Absolutely not. If anything, it has made us more focused on searching for
the truth. Further, it has caused us to focus on the individual officers and
their need for justice. For decades, the Memphis Police Department has had a
history of handing down discipline based on political or personal beliefs.
Many officers have been charged and suspended over an arrest/incident with
someone who is connected to another in political office. That’s just not fair.
We are in the developmental phase of creating an impartial support group for
officers who have been wrongly disciplined. Once established, we plan on
attacking the issues in a litigious setting.

Director Godwin has filed a motion for discovery of the identity of Mr.
Diggler under the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act, which has
been made law in thirteen states, among them Tennessee and Virginia. According
to Channel 24 Eyewitness News reporter Jeni DiPrizio, subpoenas have been sent
to AOL, Google, and Zimbio, Inc., but among the three, only AOL is based
in a state where the law is applicable. AOL is headquartered in Virginia, but
Google and Zimbio are both based in California, and neither company has
contacted Mr. Diggler about Director Godwin’s legal motion.

Under the law, the jurisdiction of the discovery state has the power to quash
the subpoena, which in this case is the 20th Judicial Circuit of Virginia. In
a previous case, IPA vs. May, Judge Thomas D. Horne of the 20th Circuit issued
a protective order on behalf of AOL on the grounds that the plaintiff had
failed to furnish a “mandate, writ or commission” to the court under the UFDA
as required by Virginia law.

To put it in layman’s terms, Director Godwin may face a long, tedious legal
battle if he truly wants to publicly identify Mr. Diggler and his associates
in court. As the original Dirk Diggler might say, “You’re not the boss of me,
Jack. I’m Dirk Diggler and I say when we roll.”

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The Last 48?

Fans of A&E’s The First 48 love homicide detective Caroline Mason, the high-heeled star of the reality show’s Memphis episodes. More than a year after it ran in the Memphis Flyer, an interview with Mason still receives comments on the Flyer website on an almost weekly basis.

But Mason’s fans will be disappointed to learn that the Memphis Police Department (MPD) has suspended filming with the popular reality show. Filming of new cases was halted May 1st, and the crew is only allowed to finish filming cases they began shooting before the suspension.

“We can’t talk about why we’re suspending filming,” said Joe Scott, assistant commander of investigative services for the MPD. “There’s no hard feelings. Nothing happened that was wrong. There are reasons, but those are operational things that are not public.”

Even the producers of the show weren’t informed why they were asked to stop filming.

“All the feedback about the show has been really positive,” said Laura Fleury, executive producer of The First 48.

City councilwoman Wanda Halbert said the decision to halt filming may have stemmed from a discussion wth police director Larry Godwin during a recent council meeting. A few council members had questions about how the show could potentially tarnish the city’s image, Halbert said.

The city receives no monetary compensation for First 48.

“The show has been on for years. They could have at least put money in a victim’s fund,” Halbert said.

Scott said the department is leaving the door open to resume filming at a later date.

“There’s nothing written in stone to say they can’t come back,” Scott said. “That’s why we use the word ‘suspended.'”

Fleury hopes the suspension is only temporary: “We hope they will come back, because there is so much support for the show in the Memphis community and in the police department. We’ve heard that since the show began filming, people in Memphis are more inclined to work with police. They recognize the officers they see on TV.”

The First 48 features segments from 11 major cities and shows investigators solving and making arrests in homicide cases. The show began filming Memphis homicide investigations in 2005, during its third season. Two photojournalists are stationed in Memphis, and they follow detectives on nearly every case.

Cases are only shown on the program, however, when an arrest is made within the first 48 hours of the investigation.

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What Goes Around

CREDIT: Bianca Phillips

Attention, motel owners: Allow people to sell sex or drugs at your motel and you might find the state selling your furniture. But don’t worry too much — the property could still be yours.

In a public auction last week, the state sold mattresses, TVs, and furnishings from the Garden Inn & Suites, the Royal Inn & Suites, the Bellevue Inn, and the Lamplighter Motor Inn. Once at auction, however, most of the items were purchased by the original owners.

All four motels were closed after a months-long investigation by the District Attorney’s Office found the motels tolerating prostitution and drug activity on their premises. The furnishings were auctioned after being forfeited to the state as a result of “public nuisance” closures. But the day after the auction, a judge ruled that the hotels would be allowed to reopen.

“The [property owners] were the built-in buyers. It was only natural for them to buy their own stuff back so they could get back into business,” said Ken Roebuck of Asset Recovery Auctions, who led auctions at each motel on Tuesday, May 6th.

Most items were sold by the room, and though people not affiliated with the motels purchased some miscellaneous items, such as tables and linens, the highest bidders tended to be the property owners themselves.

The furnishings from Garden Inn & Suites netted $18,500. The Royal Inn & Suites’ items brought in $20,500. Items from the Bellevue Inn and the Lamplighter Motor Inn earned $2,250 and $1,850, respectively.

Most of the money will go to cover the cost of the investigation at each motel. Any additional money will be given back to the property owners because the closures were civil, not criminal, proceedings.

“With a nuisance matter, we’re not allowed to seize the property,” said assistant district attorney John Campbell. “We’re only allowed to sell the items that were used to further the nuisance.”

Though it may seem strange that the property owners would ultimately receive the auction proceeds, Campbell said it’s unlikely that there will be money left after investigation costs are covered.

The District Attorney’s Office must use the funds to pay back the Memphis Police Department for use of undercover officers and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office for inmate labor used to set up the materials for the auctions. The D.A.’s office has yet to determine how much money each agency will receive.

“For a couple of these motels, the money raised is nowhere near going to cover the cost of the investigation,” Campbell said. “I know the cost of the Bellevue’s investigation will cost way over the $2,250 [brought in at auction], and the same thing goes for the Lamplighter. The other two will probably get some money back.”

Campbell said the nuisance laws were set up so that taxpayers wouldn’t bear the burden of paying for the investigations into such matters. “If your property causes a problem and the police have to do an investigation, it makes sense from a taxpayer standpoint that the property owner should have to cover those kinds of costs. It’s a financial burden that will hopefully keep people from doing it again.”

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Big Brother on Beale Street

Saturday night, five police officers stood on a platform overlooking hip-hop group Arrested Development’s performance at the Beale Street Music Festival. But that didn’t stop a group of fans near the stage from lighting up a joint during the band’s cover of Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song.”

Fortunately for the fans, the marijuana smoke must not have drifted to the police perch, because the joint went around uninterrupted. However, if they had known about the Memphis Police Department (MPD) test of the new $3.5 million Real Time Crime Center this weekend, the fans might have thought twice before toking.

As part of the test, hidden and unconcealed cameras were posted throughout Tom Lee Park and around the Beale Street area over the weekend. Those cameras fed into the new state-of-the-art crime center, housed in a secret location, where 10 officers watched video feed on 42 different display screens.

“If [crime center officers] see a crime occur, they’re able to get that information to officers out in the field within minutes through their PDAs,” said Monique Martin, public affairs officer for the MPD. “It helps us catch suspects and stay on top of any crime patterns that may be occurring in the area.”

Inside the center, staffers track crime patterns using the MPD Blue Crush technology, which displays the most recent crime locations on a computer-generated map. This can help officers track a suspect committing multiple crimes in an area.

Though the MPD has been testing elements of the center for several weeks, the Beale Street Music Festival marks the first time all the center’s components were utilized at the same time.

Last year’s event netted 78 total arrests. This year, there were only 42 misdemeanor arrests and six felony arrests in the Beale Street area. Charges ranged from public intoxication and disorderly conduct to drug possession and DUI.

Martin said the crime center also will play an important role in tracking crime during the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest later this month. As with the Beale Street Music Fest, the barbecue event will be heavily patrolled.

“A citizen is not going to be able to turn any corner downtown without seeing an officer in a patrol car, on a bicycle, on a scooter, or on foot,” Martin said. “And we’ll have some officers working out there in plain clothes.”

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Crime Fight

CREDIT: Aaron Kohr | dreamstime.com

When the Memphis Police Department (MPD) upgraded its multi-million-dollar communication system, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office was added to the platform. By joining forces, the law enforcement agencies saved taxpayer money.

But don’t think that means the two departments are ready to share.

County commissioner Mike Carpenter presented a plan last week to the Law Enforcement Consolidation Task Force that would shift county law enforcement to MPD and make the jail the sheriff’s sole responsibility.

“Two weeks ago, task-force members said they weren’t sure what we were talking about. There were no specific proposals,” said Carpenter, the group’s chair. “We need a long-term view. This isn’t about the individuals running things today. It’s not about the mayor.”

Under the proposal, a five-member Public Safety Commission would guide a functional consolidation of the two entities. The commission would consist of five representatives: someone from MPD, someone from the sheriff’s office, a representative of the county mayor, a representative of the city mayor, and a chair, appointed jointly by the city and county mayors. All the mayoral appointments would be confirmed by the City Council and the County Commission.

The plan, which would ultimately require a change in the county charter, would give leaders a chance to reverse or opt out of consolidation agreements if things weren’t going well.

Carpenter called his 21-page proposal a “starting point.” Though several other members of the task force seemed to agree, Sheriff Mark Luttrell called it “premature,” “pre-emptive,” and “ill-timed.”

“One of the most polarizing issues facing the community is consolidation,” Luttrell said. “I feel the report pre-empts the committee process.”

Mike Heidingsfield, director of the Memphis Shelby County Crime Commission, the organization that suggested functional consolidation of the departments’ basic training, traffic, search and rescue, and internal affairs divisions in a 2003 report, felt similarly.

“This perspective assumes this group has decided that consolidation is the path to follow. I don’t think we’ve gotten there as an entity,” he said.

Just the word “consolidation” is controversial. Unfortunately, as Carpenter noted, there will never be an “apples to apples” comparison with another city or county. But the proposal makes a good case, citing the elimination of boundaries, a rising jail population, potential economies of scale, and an elimination of unnecessary duplication.

Representatives from three other consolidated police departments told the task force that their organizations were more efficient after consolidation.

Robert White of the Louisville Police Department said, “Everything there were two of, there is now one of, and people are getting the same type of service.”

As it is, MPD and the sheriff’s office rarely operate jointly. The Metro DUI unit, the Memphis Shelby Metropolitan Gang Unit and the Metro Narcotics Unit, once joint crime-fighting efforts, have all been disbanded.

“Joint efforts at attacking non-federal crimes and day-to-day policework appear to be virtually non-existent,” the report noted. “These kinds of differences in philosophy and mission and disputes between the departments are avoided to the benefit of citizens under one single law enforcement agency.”

But perhaps the strongest argument for a functional consolidation is that it will happen one day whether citizens vote on it or not.

In its 2003 report, the Crime Commission noted that, because of annexation, there will be fewer than 20,000 residents in unincorporated Shelby County by the year 2020.

“Continuing at the current staffing levels to provide law enforcement for the small area described above is impractical and effectively results in municipal taxpayers, who are also county taxpayers, subsidizing law enforcement services for a small portion of unincorporated Shelby County.”

Before its law enforcement divisions were consolidated, Charlotte, North Carolina, was in a similar situation.

“It was not going to be long before the county police did not have a jurisdiction to police,” Charlotte representative Russ McElwee told the task force. “One of the strongest arguments for consolidation was the city people were paying county police salaries without any of the benefits.”

Consolidated law enforcement may not save money, although it has in some places. But that’s probably not the main issue for citizens of a high-crime society.

The success of law enforcement isn’t measured in dollars and cents but in safety and security. And, as the report noted, law enforcement may see boundaries but criminals don’t.

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5-Year Plan Presented to Law Enforcement Consolidation Group

Saying it was just a “starting point,” County Commissioner Mike Carpenter officially presented his consolidation proposal to the law enforcement consolidation task force on Wednesday.

“I don’t think this is an air-tight proposal. … This is open to discussion,” Carpenter said.

Carpenter’s plan suggests creating a Public Safety Commission that would guide a five-year consolidation process of the Memphis Police Department and the law enforcement duties of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office. If, during that time, consolidation was not working or was costing too much money, the bodies involved could opt not to go forward.

But some task force members said they needed more time to come up with a viable proposal.

“If it takes five years to execute [the plan], we need to take longer than 90 days to choose that path,” said Mike Heidingsfield, head of the Memphis Shelby County Crime Commission.

The task force’s next meeting is November 28th.

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Q&A: U.C. 1318,

CREDIT: Sergejs Nescereckis | dreamstime.com

He can’t tell the media his real name. Instead, he gives out the number U.C. 1318. For the past two and a half years, that number has been his sole identity within the Memphis Police Department (MPD).

U.C. 1318, a young, African-American police officer, retired from undercover gang operations two weeks ago. He was chosen for undercover duty straight out of the police academy and his badge, gun, and uniform were stored in an unmarked box in his attic. But those items will finally get some use as U.C. 1318 drops the number and becomes a member of the MPD’s Organized Crime Unit.

According to the MPD’s undercover handler Paul Sherman, covert officers rarely work undercover in gangs for more than two and a half years. During that time, they dress, talk, and walk like gang members — both on the job and off.

Fresh out of the undercover program, U.C. 1318 speaks out about what life was like living a lie. — Bianca Phillips

Flyer: How did you prepare yourself for a role as a gang member?

U.C. 1318: You just pick up on it. You try to fit in as well as possible. You try to sound like them, dress like them, turn your hats the same way they do. You watch rap videos and listen to how people speak. On my first day, I just listened to the terminology everybody was using.

How did you build the trust of gang members?

You have to be around these people 24/7. If they see you only randomly, then they’re not going to believe that you’re one of them. These people are gang members, but they still have lives. You’ve gotta be around their families.

Were gang members suspicious about you being a cop?

They’re always suspicious. They’re always saying, “Man, I gotta be careful out there. Blue Crush is down on us hard.” They don’t trust each other. They don’t even trust their best friends.


What was a typical day like?

Every day is different from the last. You have to be prepared for what could happen or what might happen. I never came out of role. If that required me to get up at 2 or 3 in the morning or 11 o’clock at night, then I did what I needed to do.

It was really hard on my family. I’d get up and tell me wife, “I gotta go.” And she understood.

Did you stay undercover when you were home with your wife?

I had to stay in that role all the time. It was hard for my parents and my wife. Sometimes they would get upset, but they understood that I had to stay in role. If you don’t do it at home, you’ll slip. That could cause me to make a mistake out there, and that’s not what I want. And that’s not what they want.

When you weren’t working, did you disguise yourself to leave the house?

I didn’t go out. Instead of going out and having dinner with my family, I stayed home. I’d rent movies and do things around the house.

What was the hardest part?

The hardest thing is going into a house where these gang members live and seeing the 5- and 6-year-olds who are walking around. You still see the innocence in them, and if they stay in this environment, this is all they’re going to know: guns, violence, and drugs.

Is there a best part?

The part that makes me happy is when it’s all said and done, we lock up all these gang members and drug dealers and help make the community a little bit better than it was to begin with.

Do you fear retribution?

I don’t believe we should fear these people. The problem now is they convince and bully people into fearing them. They think they have control in certain communities and neighborhoods. No one should live in fear of these people.