Memphis Mayor Paul Young had pushed back against the need for a consent decree with the DOJ after its findings following the pattern or practice investigation.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A City of Memphis spokesperson confirmed Friday that city leaders plan to hire Judge Bernice Donald to monitor the Memphis Police Department following the investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.
This comes after Memphis Mayor Paul Young pushed back against the need for a consent decree with the DOJ after scathing findings in its investigation into MPD, saying the city has already made hundreds of positive changes since the beating death of Tyre Nichols.
City leaders said in a statement that Donald will serve in a “Process Oversight Capacity – as a neutral and independent monitor, guiding the City’s community response and action plan. She will be autonomous and vested with the decisional authority necessary to ensure public confidence in the undertaking.”
Donald will oversee a nine-person task force which will develop a response plan, according to city leaders.
As for what it will cost, the city said it, “plans to allocate a budget that will enable Judge Donald to secure the resources and subject matter experts needed to support the development of the response.”
“We are encouraged to collaborate with Judge Donald on this effort; I believe there is no one more qualified to lead the process,” Mayor Young said in a release. “We are committed to fostering a transparent and effective community response and believe this task force will ensure that every voice is heard. Together, we will develop a comprehensive action plan that meets the needs of our residents.”
Donald became Tennessee’s first African American female judge in 1982 after being elected to the General Sessions Court. She was also the nation’s first Black female bankruptcy judge.
“Judge Donald’s extensive experience and impartiality make her the ideal leader for this work,” said Tannera Gibson, City of Memphis Chief Legal Officer, in a release. “We believe that under her guidance, the task force will effectively engage the community and develop a responsive action plan that truly reflects our city’s needs.”
Robert Brown, a business owner in the Orange Mound community said while he does support Mayor Paul Young trying to change the city, he does not support hiring Donald.
“I don’t think that we should trust the City of Memphis to get this right, they were the ones that got it wrong,” Brown said. “I think we need to bring in some more people that they have real accountability, and that the community starts to get some real transparency.”
According to Brown, he’s had multiple issues with the Memphis Police Department. He said two years ago, he was detained for 30 minutes after expressing his frustration to police on how they were handling his neighbor who was shot and killed across the street from his home.
“As they were detaining me, my fiancée is there, she’s telling them hey this is not alright, this is not cool. You had officers calling out her name and different things like that, and threatening to arrest her also,” he said.
ABC24 reached out to the DOJ, which had no comment on the hire.
The 17-month federal investigation launched after Nichols’ death found that Memphis officers routinely used unwarranted force and disproportionately targeted Black people.
The investigation determined that MPD officers have violated citizens’ constitutional rights and civil rights, and Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke described the review as “comprehensive and exhaustive, and said MPD’s practices violated the Constitution and federal law.
The fatal beating of Nichols by officers after he ran from a January 2023 traffic stop exposed serious problems in MPD, from its use of excessive force to its mistreatment of Black people in the majority-Black city, according to the investigation report.
Previously, Mayor Young said he believed the city could make changes without committing to a consent decree with the DOJ.
A consent decree is an agreement requiring reforms that are overseen by an independent monitor and are approved by a federal judge. The federal oversight can continue for years, and violations could result in fines paid by the city.
“We believe we can make more effective and meaningful change by working together with community input and independent national experts than with a bureaucratic, costly and complicated federal government consent decree,” Young previously said at a news conference.
A top Justice Department official warned that the DOJ could sue to require reforms of Memphis’ police force should the city refuse to sign an agreement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
