Stephen Graham Russell, Jr., was at the Hernando courthouse Monday morning for a plea and sentencing hearing when he escaped briefly.

The trial date for the federal civil lawsuit about the death of Gershun Freeman has been delayed.

Jashawn Jefferson, who is currently being held at the Shelby County Jail for an incident in Memphis, is scheduled for a trial in DeSoto County for multiple felony charges.

A report from the U.S. Department of Justice found “serious concerns” with the Memphis Police Department’s “treatment of children and the lasting impact of police encounters on their wellbeing and resilience.” Officers arrested and handcuffed children as young as 8 years old. 

Issues that the Memphis Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Team faces include using “unnecessary force” and escalating encounters during mental-health calls, according to the report. 

A Department of Justice investigation found the police department uses excessive force and discriminates against certain residents. Here’s what to know about the report and the city’s response.

Mayor Paul Young and City Chief Legal Officer Tannera Gibson disputed whether MPD treats Black residents differently than white ones. 

A roundup of all The Daily Memphian’s coverage of the report — including a synopsis of the Department of Justice’s findings along with the responses to it — can be found here.

The U.S. Department of Justice alleges the Memphis Police Department engages in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the U.S. Constitution.

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‘A rush to judgment’: Memphis won’t enter agreement with DOJ

The inmate, who died in July, was being held in the jail for the Germantown Police Department.

The City of Memphis does not plan on entering an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice following the department’s civil rights investigation into the Memphis Police Department, City Attorney Tannera Gibson said in a letter to the DOJ this week. 

One by one, row by row, families in the Michael D. Rose Theater at the University of Memphis hung an ornament in honor of their lost loved one on one of the four wreaths displayed in the front of the room. 

The Tennessee Court of Appeals has effectively dismissed the decade-long rape-kit backlog lawsuit against the City of Memphis.

The federal sentencing date for one of the former police officers charged in the death of Tyre Nichols has been rescheduled for early 2025.

Parental incarceration can influence millions of children nationwide to engage in criminal activity themselves, and Memphis is no exception. But there is hope. 

A federal grand jury indicted two Olive Branch residents on more than 50 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, preparing false tax returns and obstruction of justice.

The Memphis Police Department’s new fugitive task force has made around 614 arrests in the two months it has been operating, Col. Frank Winston told Memphis City Council members Tuesday, Nov. 26.

A police car was set ablaze in front of the Memphis Police Department’s North Main precinct Monday night, Nov. 25.

“Emmitt Martin and the state are playing games. They are pretending he is a co-defendant when he is in fact a cooperating witness,” said a lawyer representing one of the other officers charged.

A planned surge of public-safety resources into Downtown Memphis comes after years of public perception souring on safety in the central business district.

DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton announced “Operation Final Departure” to help the incoming Trump administration with its vow to deport immigrants. Barton’s effort will focus on inmates in the DeSoto County jail.

The City of Memphis plans to invest additional resources Downtown — including almost 200 more cameras — to make the area safer. 

The TBI is investigating, and the sheriff’s office does not currently believe anyone else was involved in the inmate’s death. 

“I think he was used by his brother,” the prosecutor said after the sentencing. “I think he knew better, and he obviously knew things were fishy and that he shouldn’t be doing these things. He is not a criminal.”