Here are the 11 ways Memphis City Council may reckon with Tyre Nichols' death

Spurred by community activists and their demands in the wake of Tyre Nichols' brutal beating at the hands of Memphis police officers, the Memphis City Council is poised to consider 11 items during its public safety committee Tuesday morning.

Of those 11 items, six are ordinances that will need to pass three readings before they are made final. There are also two discussions, two presentations, and a resolution slated for the meeting.

While the six ordinances could eventually be enforced, the other items are signals to city and national officials along with community leaders of the councilmembers' expectations of policing moving forward.

Here's a look at what is on the table, along with what activists have called for in the weeks since Nichols' death.

Ordinance for an annual review of MPD's training academy

First in the list of ordinances will be one to create a framework for annual reviews of the Memphis Police Department's training academy — along with its training techniques — to be conducted.

The ordinance would require the department's chief and the Memphis mayor to select an independent auditor to review the programs. Those reports would then be presented to the Memphis City Council.

The ordinance is sponsored by council members Chase Carlisle, JB Smiley, Jr. and J. Ford Canale and was introduced to "ensure that the training provided to current officers and those enrolled in the training academy is in accordance with state law and beset practices," the ordinance said.

Two traffic stop-related ordinances

The officers who initially pulled Nichols over for a traffic violation near the intersection of Ross and Raines appeared to be in unmarked police cruisers. Two ordinances that are slated to be introduced Tuesday touch on how MPD officers approach enforcing traffic laws.

Text of the two ordinances were not included in the committee documents prior to Tuesday's meeting.

One ordinance, sponsored by Council Member Michalyn Easter-Thomas, would "clarify appropriate methods and circumstances of enforcement of traffic violations."

The second ordinance, sponsored by Council Member Rhonda Logan, would amend the City of Memphis' existing ordinances to allow only "appropriately marked law enforcement vehicles to conduct traffic stops."

An ordinance making CLERB decisions accessible

Another ordinance set to be discussed Tuesday would require MPD to report the status of the recommendations made by the Citizen Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB), which is a committee that investigates complaints of police misconduct, when the complaint is "sustained" by CLERB.

A "sustained" complaint is when the conduct that an officer is accused of "likely occurred, violated a rule or law, and warrants disciplinary action."

The report from the police department will have to contain the Inspectional Services Bureau (ISB) case number, a description of the case, the CLERB hearing date, CLERB recommendations, the result of CLERB's recommendations and the date those recommendations were enacted or deferred, along with why the recommendations were enacted or deferred.

These reports will be made available to the city council, along with posted on the CLERB, city council and MPD websites. CLERB currently publishes letters sent to the chief of police when the board sustains a complaint along with the police chief's response to the decision.

An ordinance to establish independent use-of-force investigations

In addition to requiring more thorough reporting to the citizen's review board, another ordinance will attempt to establish an independent review for "incidents involving the use of excessive, unnecessary and/or deadly force by police officers and deaths or serious injuries of persons occurring while in police custody."

The ordinance was not provided in committee documents and it is unclear who will call for the independent reviews in these cases.

A data transparency ordinance rounds out the list

The final ordinance on the agenda is a data transparency ordinance. This ordinance was mentioned by Smiley in the council's Jan. 24 meeting as protesters asked the council for change in the wake of Tyre Nichols' death.

The data transparency ordinance is meant to increase the depth of the city's ISB dashboard — which was created to track complaints against MPD officers.

Smiley said the ordinance will make the more detailed data more accessible to the public.

Voicing support for national police reform, hearing from local groups

In addition to the six ordinances that are set for discussion Tuesday, a resolution will be introduced to voice the Memphis City Council's support of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The resolution is at the center of the council's four other agenda items.

At Nichols' funeral Feb. 1, Vice President Kamala Harris voiced her support for the bill's reintroduction.

“It is non-negotiable," Harris said of passing the bill.

A "discussion" with MPD Chief Cerelyn "CJ" Davis and Memphis Fire Department Chief Gina Sweat is also on the agenda. The two chiefs will discuss potential reforms for their departments with the council Tuesday. In addition to the six MPD officers who have been fired, three MFD employees have also been fired for their roles in Nichols' death.

Community policing will also be a topic of discussion at Tuesday's committee meeting.

CLERB and the Afro American Police Association were also requested to deliver presentations Tuesday. CLERB was asked to present on reforms, but the Afro American Police Association did not have a specific topic listed in the agenda. Logan requested both presentations.

Lucas Finton is a news reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: How the city council is trying to grapple with Tyre Nichols' death