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TBI Will Investigate Latest Officer-Involved Shooting

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) will be handling the case of Wednesday night’s officer-involved shooting of a man following a police chase. The man, who Memphis Police officers say aimed a weapon at them, was killed, and another man is on the run. 

Last October, the Memphis Police Department (MPD), the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, and the Shelby County District Attorney’s office signed a memorandum of understanding with the TBI to allow the state agency to investigate officer-involved shootings. That agreement came after Memphis Police officer Conner Schilling shot and killed Darrius Stewart, who was unarmed, during a traffic stop last year. Under state law, all TBI investigations are sealed.

On Wednesday evening, two MPD officers shot and killed a man whom friends and family have identified as 32-year-old Johnathan Bratcher. The TBI has not yet released the man’s identity. Around 3 p.m. yesterday, two police vehicles tried to pull over a man driving a Chevy Impala near Trezevant and Lowell. But the driver did not stop, and police pursued the car in the direction of South Parkway and Mississippi Boulevard. At that intersection, the Impala crashed into other cars and then ran over a curb at St. Andrew A.M.E. Church. The driver and passenger jumped out of the car and attempted to run away.

The two Memphis police officers, who have not been identified, and an unidentified Shelby County Sheriff’s officer tried to chase then men. That’s when one of the men allegedly pointed a gun at the officers and was then shot and killed by police. The other man remains at large as of Thursday morning. One of the Memphis Police officers was white and the other black. The man who was shot was black.

Mayor Jim Strickland’s office released the following statement Wednesday afternoon: “I have been made aware of an officer-involved shooting today. However, TBI is the lead agency investigating. I am not at liberty to discuss the details of this case. This is a reminder of the dangers our officers face on a daily basis, even on something as routine as a traffic stop.”

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Officer Who Shot Darrius Stewart Will Not Face Criminal Charges

Darrius Stewart

Connor Schilling, the Memphis Police officer who shot and killed 19-year-old Darrius Stewart during a traffic stop this summer, will not face criminal prosecution.

On Tuesday, a Shelby County Grand Jury declined to indict Schilling despite a recommendation by Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich to indict the officer for voluntary manslaughter and employment of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. 

“I was confident in asking the grand jury to indict, but this is not a jurisdiction where we present cases to the grand jury for possible indictment when we don’t think an indictment is the proper result. In some jurisdictions, everything is presented to the grand jury, but that is not how this office functions,” Weirich said.

Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong said later on Tuesday that Schilling will face an administrative hearing, possibly next week. He is still relieved of duty with pay, and that hearing could determine if Schilling should be suspended with pay or possibly terminated.

Stewart was shot on July 17th by Schilling after the car Stewart was a passenger in was pulled over for having a headlight out. Stewart was detained in the back of a squad car after the traffic stop while Schilling checked for warrants. When Schilling discovered Stewart had two outstanding warrants in Illinois and Iowa, he opened the squad car door to place handcuffs on Stewart. Schilling said Stewart then attacked him and struck him with the handcuffs. During the struggle, Schilling fired at Stewart. Stewart died from two gunshot wounds, according to the Shelby County Medical Examiner’s report.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation conducted an independent investigation into the case, and their report of 800 pages was submitted to Weirich’s office in August. She reviewed the report and made the recommendation to indict Schilling. But the grand jury declined to do so.

Connor Schilling

“The grand jury is an independent body. They don’t work for me. They don’t work for the DA’s office. They work for the community. It’s just like any of you who have sat on jury duty,” Weirich said.

Grand juries are made up of 12 members, selected by the administrative judge of criminal court, and they’re tasked with determining if there is probable cause to bring someone to trial. They do not decide guilt or innocence. Twelve votes are needed for an indictment.

Weirich said she has filed a petition in chancery court that would allow her office to release the TBI’s report. TBI records are not open to the public with the exception of a subpoena or an order of the court. If granted, she said she has requested that she be allowed to post the report on her office’s website.

Weirich said she has spoken with Stewart’s mother, but she declined to divulge the details of that conversation. 

“As difficult as this news will be for the community to receive, I think what has to be stressed is the process worked,” Weirich said. “The system worked. Our criminal justice system worked the way it was designed. There was an independent investigation. There was an independent review of that investigation by me and others in this office. And there was an independent presentation and decision on that work as to what it meant and what the results should be. The grand jury has spoken under its statutory authority”

U.S. Congressman Steve Cohen released a statement Tuesday night calling for the Department of Justice to open a federal civil rights investigation.

“I respectfully urge the Department of Justice to open an investigation immediately,” said Cohen. “We need to know whether any federal civil rights laws have been violated, and only the federal government has the resources, expertise and independence to give this matter the full, fair and public review it deserves.”

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Police-Involved Deaths To Be Investigated By TBI

Any death of a suspect or detainee involving the Memphis Police Department (MPD) or Shelby County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) will be investigated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), according to an agreement signed by the MPD, SCSO, and Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich.

The TBI will be charged with investigating such situations, but the agency will not make recommendations or draw legal conclusions, according to the agreement. Instead, those findings will be sent to Weirich’s office for review.

“We believe this method will increase the level of public confidence in such investigations and, quite frankly, it will relieve the police and sheriff’s officers of a most-difficult task, that is, of investigating circumstances involving one of their own,” Weirich said. “We all hope this procedure will never be necessary, but it is now in place and will be the rule going forward.”

Upon the occurrence of such a death, according to the agreement, the police department or sheriff’s office shall:

* immediately notify the TBI and DA’s office

* secure a crime scene perimeter with access limited to emergency medical personnel, medical examiner personnel and TBI personnel 

* detain and hold any arrested persons pending the arrival of TBI personnel

* identify and separate all eye witnesses for subsequent interview by TBI 

The agreement also outlines TBI responsibilities, including:

* initiating an investigation in accordance with state law and TBI policy

* dispatching of any TBI personnel necessary for proper conduct of such an investigation

* issuing investigative reports and summaries to the DA’s as appropriate in the investigative process 

* submitting final reports to the DA’s office for review without an opinion on whether the force used, if any, was justified.

The July 17th police-involved shooting of Darrius Stewart was investigated by the TBI, and the agency has wrapped up the investigation and forwarded its findings to Weirich, but she hasn’t yet made a decision on the case.

In that case, Stewart was shot and killed by Memphis Police Officer Conor Schilling after the car Stewart was a passenger in was pulled over for having a headlight out. Stewart was placed in the back of a squad car after the traffic stop while Schilling checked for warrants. The police account of what happened says that, when Schilling opened the squad car to handcuff Stewart, the man kicked the door and tried to attack the officer. Shortly after the warrant check, police reported that Stewart had been shot and an ambulance was called for. Stewart later died at the Regional Medical Center.

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NAACP Expresses Support for TBI Investigating Police Shooting

Darrius Stewart

In a press conference at First Baptist-Broad on Wednesday morning, Keith Norman, president of the Memphis chapter of the NAACP, said the organization supports the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) looking into the police shooting death of Darrius Stewart.

Norman said the organization helped state Representative G.A. Hardaway in crafting a bill to mandate that all police-involved shootings in the state be investigated by the TBI rather than by police departments in their own jurisdictions.

“No local body should should do an investigation of a police shooting. An independent body should investigate,” Norman said. 

On Monday, the Memphis Police Department and Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirch announced that Stewart’s Friday night shooting death by Memphis Police officer Connor Schilling would be investigated by the TBI rather than by the MPD. The decision has been criticized by some because TBI files are sealed from the public. Many are calling for more transparency in the investigation.

Norman said he supported that transparency, and he urged citizens to push for a change in the law that would require TBI documents to be made public.

“I would encourage all citizens to get involved in petitioning for a change in the law so that findings could be made public,” Norman said.

Norman said the NAACP will also be looking into protocol for dealing with passengers in cars during traffic stops. Stewart was riding in a car that was pulled over for having a headlight out. 

Norman said that people should remain calm while the investigation is underway. Stewart was placed in the back of a squad car during the traffic stop while Schilling checked for warrants. The police account of what happened says that, when Schilling opened the squad car to handcuff Stewart, the man kicked the door and tried to attack the officer. Shortly after the warrant check, police reported that Stewart had been shot and an ambulance was called for. Stewart later died at The Med. Some have questioned whether or not the police should have even been checking on warrants for a passenger.

“We have questions about what are the rights of a passenger under the rule of law during a mere traffic violation,” Norman said. “Should officers have the right to question everyone in the car? This can lead to inappropriate contact with citizens who have not committed a crime.”

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New Study Shows Efforts to Reduce DUI Recidivism Don’t Work

CREDIT: Jiri Hera | Dreamstime.com

Charges of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) by repeat offenders are increasing in Tennessee, despite new laws and educational efforts to reduce recidivism, according to a new report.

Two laws that went into effect in July intensified the punishment for driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The DUI Recidivism Reduction Act mandates jail or prison time for second- and third-time DUI offenders in Tennessee. And Amelia’s Law, named for Maryville, Tennessee, car accident victim Amelia Keown, permits an offender to be monitored with a “transdermal monitoring device” if it’s determined that alcohol or drugs was a contributing factor to past unlawful conduct.

Jiri Hera | Dreamstime.com

In January 2011, all DUI schools across the state began using a curriculum mandated by the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS) to lessen DUI recidivism. The Kentucky-based alcohol and drug prevention, intervention, and pre-treatment program “Prime For Life” was selected as the standardized curriculum for the DUI schools to utilize.

However, “Tennessee’s DUI Problem: Increasing Recidivism,” a new report by psychologist and veteran researcher Greg Little, provides data that asserts the decision to implement the curriculum hasn’t been successful in curbing DUIs.

“[DUIs] have come on up to a level that’s actually pretty astounding,” Little said. “It just makes no sense.”

Little’s report claims DUI arrests, following Prime For Life’s implementation, have increased statewide. In 2011, according to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) data, DUI arrests increased nearly 12 percent to 26,197 from its 2010 total of 23,460. And in 2012, there were 28,931 DUI arrests — a 23 percent increase since 2010.

According to the state’s Division of Substance Abuse Services, the Prime For Life curriculum is intended to minimize the occurrences of drug- and alcohol-related incidents in Tennessee. It utilizes brain chemistry and addiction research to decrease dependency.

The curriculum identifies two phases of drinking: low-risk and high-risk. A person who consumes two or three drinks in a day is defined as a low-risk drinker. Individuals categorized as high-risk consume more than three drinks a day.

Kenny Baker is program director for Behavioral Treatment Providers, which specializes in providing treatment and intervention to various offenders including those arrested for DUIs. Baker said he opposed the decision to make Prime For Life the state’s mandatory DUI school curriculum.

“Our approach has always been ‘if you choose to drink, don’t get behind the wheel of a car and drive,'” Baker said. “With the standardized curriculum, I don’t think DUI offenders care about low-risk versus high-risk drinking and what it does. I don’t think it’s useful for them to run calculations in their head. But the new curriculum really focuses on that.”

In 2009, a TBI report revealed that 21 percent of the people arrested for DUIs in Tennessee were repeat offenders. A year later, the decision was made to implement a standardized curriculum statewide to limit DUI recidivism. Little’s report, however, states that the number of DUI repeat offenders had increased to 25 percent by mid-2012.

Little said he hopes his report motivates the state to release a recidivism study that showcases the outcomes of DUI offenders who’ve accessed the Prime For Life program.

“The actual overall recidivism rate for Tennessee DUI offenders hasn’t been released since 2009,” Little stated in the report. “And that is an essential problem. With reduced recidivism as the stated goal of a mandated statewide program, evaluating the recidivism of treated DUI offenders would seem to be the ethical and correct course of action.”

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Same-Sex Domestic Violence Numbers Are Up in Tennessee

Overall domestic violence numbers dropped by four percent in Tennessee since 2008, according to the latest Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) numbers. But for same-sex couples, those numbers actually saw a 44 percent increase since then.

That may not actually reflect an increase in incidents but rather an increase in reporting due to changing attitudes by the general public about homosexuality, said Phillis Lewis, a witness coordinator for the Shelby County District Attorney’s office’s domestic violence unit.

“I think people have become more comfortable reporting,” Lewis said. “I think before people were afraid of letting officers know their status and that [the perpetrator] is their significant other.”

In 2012, Lewis started the “Love Doesn’t Hurt” fund, which provides emergency funding to same-sex domestic violence victims. The money can be used to help victims with anything from housing and relocation to food and gas.

“In the first case we dealt with, the person had completely left the home and needed somewhere to go,” Lewis said. “We housed that person in a hotel for a week, and then they decided they wanted to leave Memphis. So we helped that person get out of town. We want them safe from violence. The last thing we need is another homicide.”

They also collect hygiene products to hand out to victims.

“When you’re running from your wife, you’re not going to think about grabbing some deodorant,” Lewis said.

When she started the fund two years ago, Lewis had begun noticing an increase in reported cases. But she said there was nowhere she felt comfortable sending LGBT victims for help.

“A lot of the agencies [that deal with domestic violence] are faith-based, and I sent one client to a place where, instead of focusing on the trauma she’d been through, they were focusing on her sexual orientation,” Lewis said.

Enter the Family Safety Center of Memphis and Shelby County. The one-stop shop for domestic violence victims opened in 2012, and various agencies that assist victims, such as the Shelby County Crime Victims Center and the Mid-South Sexual Assault Resource Center, are now located in one building on Madison.

The center’s executive director Oliette Drobot-Murry said she has worked to make sure the Family Safety Center is LGBT-friendly. Her staff has trained with the Tennessee Equality Project, and they partner with the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center (MGLCC) and HIV/AIDS nonprofit, the Red Door Foundation.

“We go to [Mid-South] Pride, and we sponsor Red Door events. And now through word of mouth, we’ve had more LGBT folks coming through here,” Drobot-Murry said.

The Family Safety Center is now in charge of doling out money from the “Love Doesn’t Hurt” fund on a case-by-case basis to same-sex victims who file reports there. Although the fund is primarily raised at an annual benefit each March, Lewis said anyone can donate to the fund at any time by sending a check to the Family Safety Center and specifying that the donation should go into the “Love Doesn’t Hurt” fund.

To help prevent same-sex domestic violence, the MGLCC hosts a twice-monthly support group called Cultivating Priorities in Relationships to help people identify toxic relationships.

“I thought we should call it something other than a support group for victims because that scares people,” said Martavius Hampton, MGLCC’s HIV Services Manager. “We promote it as a healthy relationship group, so it’s like prevention rather than waiting on something to happen. We talk about what’s a positive partner and what’s abusive and controlling.”

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For Shame

It’s not exactly a scarlet letter, but a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) Web site is being used to shame people who have been caught making and selling crystal meth.

When 39-year-old Stacey Gore was convicted of possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell, she not only received over three years at the Shelby County Correctional Center and a hefty fine, her name was also added to a public list of meth offenders.

Much like the mandatory sex-offender registry, the TBI’s Meth Offender Registry is a list of convicted meth cooks and dealers posted on the TBI’s Web site, www.tbi.gov.

“Just as sex offenders are deemed to be a public threat, so are meth makers,” said TBI spokesperson Jennifer Johnson. “We know the chemicals used to make meth are very volatile. So the governor’s task force on methamphetamine came up with the idea to start this registry to inform citizens about potential meth cooks who may be living in their neighborhoods.”

Unlike the sex-offender registry, the meth registry does not contain addresses. Citizens concerned about meth cooks in their community would have to know their neighbors’ names for the list to do much good.

Johnson said addresses were excluded because many offenders on the list are currently in jail. Meth cooks and users also tend to have a more transient nature, making it hard to pin down their location.

“They may be living with a friend or in an apartment or rental property. In this case, it’s more important to know who the person is rather than their address,” said Johnson.

The registry is searchable by county. A search for Shelby County nets 15 names, most of whom have been charged with possession of meth with intent to sell. Searches for the more rural counties of Tennessee net more people with manufacturing charges. Each offender’s name, date of birth, offense, and conviction date are listed. The registry only includes people with convictions dating back to March 30, 2005.

“Hopefully, this will be a deterrent to those who do not want to have their name on a public list,” said Johnson.

Tennessee was the first state in the country to compile a list of meth offenders, but Minnesota and Illinois have since designed their own registries. Oklahoma and Georgia are also considering such a list.

While the TBI maintains that the list is a public service, others consider it insult to injury. “Non-violent drug offenders already have a hard time when they get out of prison. They can’t get student loans. They have a hard time finding a job,” said Bill Piper with the Drug Policy Alliance. “Registries like this make it harder for these people when they get out of prison to lead law-abiding lives.”

Piper is also concerned about whether meth registries could be a slippery slope to identifying all drug offenders on public lists. But Johnson says the TBI has not considered such an exhaustive registry.

“There’s never been a discussion to have a marijuana registry or a cocaine registry,” said Johnson. “The reason meth was singled out is because it’s not only a danger to the person who’s using it, it’s a danger to everyone around them.”