Memphians Want to Feel Safe
The Honorable Kristen Clarke, United States Assistant Attorney General, United States Department of Justice; Honorable Kevin G. Ritz, United States Attorney, Western District of Tennessee
Justice for Tyre - Safety and security lie at the heart of the health of a community. Memphians want to feel safe (protected from risk and injury) and secure (free from danger or threat). Today, after the brutal beating and subsequent death of Tyre Nichols our safety and security are challenged, and trust in the institutions that should keep us safe is low. Please, sign this petition to request a "pattern or practice" investigation of MPD by the Department of Justice.
Sponsored by
To:
The Honorable Kristen Clarke, United States Assistant Attorney General, United States Department of Justice; Honorable Kevin G. Ritz, United States Attorney, Western District of Tennessee
From:
[Your Name]
I am sure that you, along with most Americans, have watched the appalling behavior of the Memphis Police Department (MPD) officers and other first responders, which resulted in the preventable death of Mr. Tyre Nichols. What happened to Tyre Nichols is abhorrent and should never happen again. I believe what happened to Tyre Nichols is not an isolated event but part of a systemic "pattern or practice" behavior that contradicts the U.S. Constitution and consistently violates the civil rights of the citizens of Memphis.
I am writing to request that the U. S. Department of Justice conduct a full, thorough, and complete "pattern or practice" investigation of the MPD, including but not limited to its policies and procedures, arrest histories, detainment protocols, civil complaints, and their resolutions, and the use of force.
I believe "bad cops" have been emboldened by their superiors' implicit and explicit approval to act upon the systemic racist and classist biases within the MPD.
The apparent contempt for policy and procedure evident in one MPD officer's audacity to take a photo of an injured Tyre Nichols and share it with friends and fellow officers is confounding.
I feel compelled to acknowledge and address the limited and woefully inadequate response by the City of Memphis administration and MPD to well-publicized requests on behalf of Memphis and Shelby County residents for a "pattern or practice" investigation that the public can have confidence in.
It is my understanding that should a "pattern or practice" investigation reveal unlawful policing by MPD, the USDOJ Civil Rights Division will attempt to remedy the unlawful practices by working with MPD with input from the community to reach an effective and sustainable, negotiated resolution with specific remedies that are represented in the form of a federal court order that's overseen by an independent monitor. My confidence in affecting positive, lasting, tailored change is grounded in the authority of the U. S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division to initiate a federal lawsuit to secure the reforms of unconstitutional patterns and practices that are identified within MPD.