Tag: Memphis United

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City Council to Vote on CLERB Subpoena Power

Marcus Walker says he was beaten by a Memphis Police officer during a routine traffic stop one night in 2011. He’d been pulled over for a revoked license, and he says he left the car to go into his nephew’s mother’s home and get her because police were beating her son, who’d been in the backseat and had cursed at an officer. But Walker says an officer grabbed him and hit him as well.

“They wouldn’t let me go in and get her. They put me on the car and handcuffed me and sprayed me with Mace,” Walker said. “And then I could feel licks coming upside my head and back. I felt one guy pull my arms up, and then he kicked my feet out from under me. I fell on my face and shoulder.”

Map of people referred to CLERB while it was inactive

Walker was arrested for disorderly conduct, but his charges were later expunged. His case is one of at least 186 that were referred to the Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB) during the time the board was inactive between 2011 and last year. The CLERB is a volunteer board tasked with hearing cases of police misconduct that were not sustained by the Memphis Police Department’s own Internal Affairs complaint process. The board can recommend punishment for officers to the police director, but it cannot enforce penalties.

The CLERB was active from 1994 to 2011 but eventually fizzled out. The original board lacked power to subpoena witnesses and documents. However, last fall, the Memphis City Council voted to allow the board to indirectly subpoena officers and paperwork through the board’s liaison on the council.

But on July 19th, the Memphis City Council will vote on possibly removing that power. Worth Morgan, the Memphis City Council public safety chair and the CLERB council liaison, is sponsoring the amendment to the CLERB ordinance because he says the council doesn’t have legal authority to subpoena witnesses and documents for other boards.

“According to the city charter, the council has authority to subpoena people and documents to the meetings of the city council, but we don’t have the authority to subpoena people to appear at a meeting that’s not of the city council,” said Morgan, citing an opinion by council attorney Allan Wade last year.

Morgan said the board could get direct subpoena power, without having to go through the council, by a voter referendum.

But Paul Garner of Memphis United, which last year led the push for CLERB to have subpoena power through the council, said the subpoena power issue was vetted last year before the original ordinance passed.

“This is a hasty attempt to remove subpoena power without taking the time to go back over the deliberations that took place over months and months last year with all parties involved and Wade giving his opinion before the council took a vote on it,” Garner said.

Morgan’s amendments also include a change to ensure all CLERB meetings are open to the public. At the first meeting of the new CLERB board in April, the public was asked to leave while the board deliberated a case during executive session.

“For CLERB to be successful, it needs to be a fair, open, and honest process. We need to make sure all meetings are in compliance with the state open meetings act,” Morgan said, noting that he thought the board was wrong to ask the public to leave at the last meeting.

Garner put in a public records request with the city to find out how many people were referred to CLERB during the time the board was inactive. Memphis United has compiled city maps of the addresses of those affected to determine the demographic hit hardest by the lack of a board from 2011 to 2015. They found that 81.5 percent of those cases involved minorities who lived in mostly low- to moderate-income areas.

“It’s not just concentrated in black and brown neighborhoods. It’s the black and brown communities that border the predominantly white parts of town, and that brings up some other questions about how policing works in certain communities,” Garner said.

Garner said his group made the maps to illustrate how real people are being affected while the council debates the language of the ordinance that was passed last year.

“What we really want to convey is that this debate about how much power this board should have has being going on for almost two years,” Garner said. “I’m tired of this being about politics and pandering. These are real people this is directly impacting.”

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CLERB Now Has Power to Investigate Police Misconduct

Right around the same time last week that Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich was announcing that a Memphis Police officer would not be criminally charged for shooting an unarmed black man, the Memphis City Council was taking up a vote on how much power a civilian board would have to investigate complaints of police misconduct.

While Connor Schilling, the officer who shot Darrius Stewart, got off without state charges, the council voted in favor of giving the Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB) more teeth to investigate complaints.

CLERB, which has been in place since 1994 but inactive since 2011, investigates complaints of force, verbal abuse, harassment, arrest, illegal search or entry, intimidation, improper firearm use, or other issues with police.

Perhaps the biggest change for CLERB came in giving the board indirect subpoena power. The board was previously unable to require that police officers involved in a case appear before the board. They also could not require the city to hand over documents pertaining to a case.

But the up-to-date CLERB ordinance gives the board the ability to subpoena officers and documents through a Memphis City Council liaison. Originally, when citizen group Memphis United began proposing the city give CLERB more power, they’d asked for the council to give the board the ability to directly subpoena officers and documents without going through a liaison. But council attorney Allan Wade said such a change would require a citywide referendum.

“What we have instead is the next best thing,” said Paul Garner, organizer for Memphis United. “The council will subpoena requested documents and records on behalf of the review board. If that’s the closest thing we can get without a referendum, we’ll take that over them not being able to issue subpoenas.”

The Rev. Ralph White of Bloomfield Full Gospel Baptist Church has served as the chair of CLERB since before it became inactive in 2011, and he said the subpoena power makes CLERB’s job much easier.

“[Before], we were not able to have contact or dialogue with the police officers who had been charged with offenses, so it was a little difficult for us to adequately represent those complaints,” White said.

The CLERB ordinance also allows for the hiring of an investigator and an administrator to oversee investigations into alleged police misconduct. Since CLERB is an all-volunteer board, its previous incarnation was unable to put enough time into investigations.

“The board members often have other responsibilities beyond the board, so having a dedicated staff is critical,” Garner said.

CLERB works somewhat like an appeals board, White said. First, a complainant must file a report with the Memphis Police Department’s Internal Affairs division. Internal Affairs has 45 days to complete the their investigation, another new addition to the CLERB ordinance. Previously, Internal Affairs cases could take much longer to complete.

“If the complainant isn’t satisfied [with Internal Affairs], they can come to us. We can take the information they have and allow our investigator to go through and make his or her decision and compare that to what’s already out there,” White said.

Once CLERB reaches a conclusion, the board can make a recommendation for a disciplinary action to the police director, but it’s up to the director whether or not the action will be enforced.

The CLERB ordinance passed in council with a 9-2 vote, with only councilmen Reid Hedgepeth and Kemp Conrad voting against it. Conrad said he didn’t have a problem with the idea of CLERB, but he felt that the group pushing for the changes — Memphis United — was anti-police. Memphis United has organized peaceful protests against police violence and supports the Black Lives Matter movement.

“I and others were concerned that the CLERB board allowed these openly anti-police people to hijack the whole communications process,” Conrad said. “What if those people have influence or end up on the [CLERB] board?”

But White said it’s never been the goal of CLERB to “bash police officers.” He said, in some cases where the board finds proof of police misconduct, they’ll suggest more training or a desk position over termination.

“The majority of the time, when we have investigated cases [on the old board], the citizens were found at fault. Often, things happen because citizens were ignorant of the law,” White said. “We’re going to educate citizens on what their rights are and what rights they do not have.

“Many times, when [police] are doing their jobs, they don’t know if a traffic stop will be their last action on this earth. We’re not just there to get the police. Most police are men and women who love our community, and some of them might be bad apples, just like you’ve got in every occupation.”

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Memphis United Demands More Accountability for Police Officers

Driving under the influence, aggravated assault, rape, and murder are among the offenses law enforcement are paid to police. Ironically, these very crimes are amid the illegal acts some Memphis officers have been arrested for since last year.

In 2014, 18 officers from the Memphis Police Department (MPD) were arrested. As of April 2nd, there have been four officers apprehended this year for offenses such as sexual exploitation of a minor and driving under the influence.

“We are held to a higher standard because we took an oath to protect and serve, but, by the same token, our officers are treated just like any other citizen who breaks the law,” said MPD spokeswoman Alyssa Macon-Moore. “We’re no different. When we do things that are outside of the perimeters of the law, we must suffer the consequences.”

Memphis United, a coalition of local grassroots organizations and residents against structural and institutional racism, organized the “Bad Apples? FixTheBarrel” rally last Wednesday at the intersection of Lamar and Airways. People waved signs and protested in support of efforts to hold law enforcement more accountable.

The primary approach to help accomplish this goal would be through an amendment of the city’s Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB) ordinance. The revision would provide CLERB with the power to subpoena documents and police witnesses, investigate complaints concurrently with the Memphis Police Internal Affairs department, and make disciplinary recommendations to the Memphis Police director, among other authoritative acts. The Memphis City Council’s Personnel Committee will discuss the amendment at its next meeting on April 21st.

Paul Garner led the rally at the intersection of Lamar and Airways. He spoke through a bullhorn at passersby about the importance of police accountability and the need to reinstate CLERB.

“There needs to be a system in place where when people file complaints, it’s tracked and available to the public, and we catch these things before something serious happens,” said Garner, organizing coordinator for the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center (MSPJC). “Some of these guys have multiple complaints filed against them, and if there was a civilian oversight body that had the power to gather that information at the time those complaints were filed, red flags would have gone up and something could have been done before we had a case of rape or sexual assault or domestic violence.”

Last Tuesday, a day before the “Bad Apples” rally, a panel was held at Christian Brothers University to inform the public of CLERB’s origin and how its modification would benefit the city. The panelists included members of CLERB and MSPJC.

During the event, an attendee asked if CLERB would have the ability to demand punishment of officers who unlawfully shoot and kill civilians.

Brad Watkins, executive director of the MSPJC, informed the questioner that CLERB would not investigate criminal matters and “is not the answer to our problems.”

For significant progress to be made, Watkins said, in addition to CLERB, there needs to be a confidential counseling program for Memphis Police officers as well as replacement of leadership in the MPD and at City Hall.

“We have to have a complete change in the culture of MPD,” Watkins said. “Not only the culture of MPD and how it relates to its citizens, but the institution of MPD and its relationship to the psychological health of the officers themselves. Without these things, we’ll only have further harassment and violence in our community. The MPD has to be accountable, open to the public, and [responsive] before there’s a murder and a protest — not constantly playing catch-up afterwards with token gestures that don’t change the reality of people’s lives.”

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Protesters Expose MPD’s “Bad Apples”

Louis Goggans

A woman holds a sign displaying several Memphis Police officers who have been arrested since 2014 at the intersection of Lamar and Airways.

Cars driving through the intersection of Lamar and Airways during rush hour Wednesday were greeted by protesters holding signs that read “#Bad Apples,” “Demand Oversight of the Police,” “We Don’t Need Seedy Police,” and “Protect Us, Don’t Kill Us.”

The protesters were participants of “Bad Apples? FixTheBarrel,” a rally for stronger civilian oversight of police. If passed, an amended version of the city’s Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB) ordinance would help accomplish this goal.

The amended ordinance would provide CLERB with the power to subpoena documents and police witnesses, investigate complaints concurrently with Memphis Internal Affairs, and make disciplinary recommendations to the Memphis Police director, among other authoritative acts. It’s slated to be heard by City Council’s Personnel Committee next Tuesday at 8:30 a.m.

LG

Memphis United, a coalition of local grassroots organizations and residents against structural and institutional racism, spearheaded the gathering Wednesday.The event’s theme was inspired by the 20 Memphis Police officers, referred to as “bad apples” by the protesters, who were reportedly arrested between March 2nd, 2014 and March 2nd, 2015.

Around a dozen protesters walked along the sidewalk in front of the Walgreens at 1489 Airways Blvd. while several others stood across the street under a Blue Crush SkyCop.

The diverse collective chanted, “What’s done in the dark will be brought to light! Memphis needs police oversight!” and “Up! Up! With accountability! Down! Down! With police brutality!”

A multitude of drivers honked their horns and lifted fist in support of the movement as they cruised by. 

LG

“If we’ve had 20 officers arrested in a year, that’s almost two a month,” said Paul Garner, organizing coordinator for the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center, during the protest. “I think that points to a systemic problem. Because there’s such an outcry from the community, we need to look at systemic solutions. That’s kind of where our whole ‘fix the barrel’ theme comes from. If we want to have good apples in our barrel, we need to look at ways to improve the way we hold law enforcement accountable. There needs to be a system in place where when people file complaints, it’s tracked and available to the public, so that we catch these things before something serious happens.”

 Read next week’s issue of the Flyer for more information on Memphis Police officer arrests and CLERB.

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Youth Discuss Juvenile Justice Reform

The Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County (JCMSC) has been under scrutiny in recent years, following findings of racial discrimination and other problems in a 2012 investigation of the court by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).

Last weekend, a group of about 40 young people ranging from 13 to 18 gathered at LeMoyne-Owen College to discuss issues surrounding juvenile justice reform.

Some of them were concerned teens; others had court-ordered community service. But by the end of the day, the People’s Conference on Juvenile Justice brought forth a wave of youth-facilitated discussion — full of opinions, suggestions, and complaints.

LeMoyne-Owen College.

The conference, a joint effort by Memphis United and BRIDGES, was designed not only to give a platform for these discussions but to give young people the nudge they needed to mobilize in favor of reducing youth crime and negative depictions of teenagers in media, said Bradley Watkins, the executive director of the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center.

“When we set off doing this event, we wanted to make sure that, as much as possible, it was youth-facilitated, youth-led, and youth-crafted,” Watkins said. “We say, ‘Youth are the solution, not the problem,’ but we never allow them to be a part of the solution. The fact that adults weren’t really engaging in that conversation — that it was more youth with youth — the conversation was more fruitful.”

Youth leadership program members from Bridge Builders and other young people led workshops, which included a “Know Your Rights” training seminar that set out to educate attendees about the rights they are guaranteed despite being below the voting age.

In the 2012 DOJ report, the department found that the JCMSC failed to provide adequate protection for juveniles in regard to self-incrimination, in particular “[advising] juveniles of their Miranda rights prior to questioning” in probation conferences. That report also found the JCMSC failed to “provide constitutionally required due process to children of all races” on top of charges of administration discrimination against black children and unsafe conditions while in confinement.

Since then, the DOJ and the JCMSC came to an agreement in terms of reformation, providing timelines and goals in order to reduce the presence of black juveniles within the system in Shelby County as well as “ensuring greater equality for all youth,” according to compliance reports.

In 2014, those reports reiterated a “minority youth over-representation at almost every stage in the proceedings and evidence of discriminatory treatment of black youth.” With the JCMSC’s progress so far, the community outreach branch of the court has worked with BRIDGES and Memphis United to change the conversation from punishment to prevention.

“I worked for a juvenile detention facility 16 years ago,” Watkins said. “I was working there, all those years, thinking I was a counselor until I realized, ‘This is just a private jail.’ This model that we have for our juvenile justice system doesn’t incentivize reforming or ending recidivism. It profits off the recidivism because most of the juvenile detention centers make their money based on how many bunks they fill each night, not how many kids leave their program and never engage with the criminal justice system again.”

BRIDGES and Memphis United are planning a second conference to take place in late August at LeMoyne-Owen College.

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Cohen, Memphis Activists Turn Attention to Ferguson

CREDIT: Memphis United Facebook Page

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis signed on to a letter issued last week demanding a hearing on the use of force by local law enforcement officials during the protests in Ferguson, Missouri.

Cohen, and Reps. John Conyers and Robert Scott issued the letter to Rep. Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, after Ferguson police broke up a protest last week with “brutal force: confronting demonstrators in riot gear and armored vehicles, arresting journalists, and firing tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowd.”

The protests in Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb, were sparked when local police shot and killed an unarmed African-American teenager, Michael Brown, more than a week ago. 

Protests there briefly calmed after the initial show of force by police officers outfitted in riot gear and driving armored vehicles. Security of the protest was handed over to the Missouri state police last week, who shed the riot gear and walked among the protestors. Violence picked up again Sunday and Monday nights as some protesters threw Molotov cocktails at police and several people were shot. The National Guard was called in to Ferguson on Monday. Cohen and others want an investigation into the events “as soon as possible.”

“These incidents raise concerns that local law enforcement is out of control, and, instead of protecting the safety and civil liberties of the residents of Ferguson, is employing tactics that violate the rights of the citizens and hinder the ability of the press to report on their actions,” the letter reads. “This situation requires immediate congressional scrutiny.”

The congressmen want to discuss “what appears to be a pattern of the use of deadly force by police against unarmed African Americans in cities around the nation.” They also want an investigation into the arrest of two journalists — Wesley Lowery of The Washington Post and Ryan J. Reilly of The Huffington Post. Finally, Cohen and the others said they want to address the “extensive militarization of state and local police.”

“In Ferguson, why do local police dress in military-style uniforms and body armor, carry short-barreled 5.56-mm rifles based on the M4 carbine, and patrol neighborhoods in massive armored vehicles?” the letter reads. “In all likelihood, the decision to adopt a military posture only served to aggravate an already tense situation and to commit the police to a military response.”

The protests in Ferguson have sparked action in Memphis. Vigils, gatherings, and marches sprang up all over town last week at parks, major intersections, and the National Civil Rights Museum.

Memphis United Facebook Page

Supporters took to the main intersections along the Poplar corridor on Monday holding signs that read “#handsup” and “#dontshoot,” Twitter hashtags inspired by Ferguson protestors. That protest was organized in part by Memphis United, the Mid-South Peace & Justice Center, and others.

Memphis United wants to use the energy surrounding the events in Ferguson to push for a slate of changes in Memphis. The group wants body cameras on all local police officers, action on the city’s backlog of untested rape kits, and an end of militarization of the Memphis Police Department and private security officers, among other things.

“We are all outraged by the events in Ferguson and around the United States, where we see people of color disproportionately targeted by police violence,” says the group’s Facebook page. “We should be outraged, and our voices should be heard.”

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Organization Looks to Improve Police Review Board

Memphis United Facebook

  • Memphis United Facebook

Memphis United has announced a campaign involving social media and town hall meetings to improve the Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board, which has been reinstated by the Wharton administration after being inactive for four years, according to the organization. The Flyer covered Memphis United’s early work on this issue in February.

At a press conference Thursday evening, members of the group spoke about their experiences with the Memphis Police Department and the Internal Affairs Bureau. Speakers included Paul Garner, an organizer with the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center, who was arrested while filming officers last year. His process took months to complete with Internal Affairs and went nowhere.

“[The review board] existed nowhere but on paper,” Garner said to reporters. “Now, it has no subpoena power and no punitive authority.”

The board was also only allowed to review investigations that were completed by Internal Affairs.

Deborah Robinson, a freelance journalist from Las Vegas, also spoke to reporters after having an incident with Memphis police last month, where she was allegedly questioned and assaulted while filming an arrest at a bus terminal.

In December, the Memphis Police Department released its formal policy on recording, instructing officers to refrain from asking for identification or reasons for recording as well as stopping those in the process of recording.

“The officers ignored the policy,” Robinson said.

For inspiration, Memphis United looked at Knoxville as a model for the proposed improvements to the Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board.

The first town hall meeting for citizens to offer input into Memphis United’s work to “make [the board] more effective” is June 24th at 6 p.m. in the Lewis Davis CME Church, located in the Chickasaw Gardens neighborhood. The organization also has a hashtag for people to share experiences with Memphis police on social media, #CLERBspeakout2014.