Key takeaways from the DOJ's first meeting about its civil rights investigation into MPD

Officials from the U.S. Department of Justice Tuesday evening said they were "just getting started" in their pattern or practice investigation of the Memphis Police Department.

The investigation was announced Thursday, about six months after officers from MPD beat 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, who died three days later. Officials from the DOJ were on a Zoom call to explain the investigation to Memphians, introduce themselves and allow residents to pose questions as the federal agency prepares for an investigation that could last years.

Members of the DOJ, during the first ten minutes of the meeting, ran through much of what Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division said during the investigation's announcement Thursday.

Additional information on the scope of the investigation and some of its consequences was spurred by community questions.

One community member asked about the potential for crime rising due to the DOJ's investigation, but Suraj Kumar, a trial attorney in the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, said the investigation will bring added public trust to law enforcement and that should make "policing more effective and less dangerous."

"We've conducted pattern or practice investigations, and enforced remedies, in other cities, including cities affected by high levels of violent crime," Kumar said. "Public safety requires public trust in law enforcement. Police officers who risk their lives in the line of duty, we need the public, we need the community, to trust them. Community trust makes policing more effective and less dangerous... We know that promoting public safety also includes protecting people's civil rights."

Another community member asked if the DOJ was investigating any other agencies, specifically referencing the Shelby County Sheriff's Office or the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

In short, the DOJ is not investigating any other law enforcement agency in Shelby County, said Maureen Johnston, acting deputy chief of the Special Litigation Section of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division. But, Johnston said the DOJ will consider any information they are given.

"We're focusing on the actions of the Memphis Police Department," Johnston said. "That's the investigation that the Assistant Attorney General authorized us to open. I know that some members of the community may have concerns about other neighboring jurisdictions, and we'll consider any information that we receive. Sometimes there are partnerships that we can look at through this investigation into this particular department."

Although Clarke listed three areas of specific focus that the investigation will have — whether MPD uses excessive force, violates people's rights by conducting illegal stops and if the department engages in racial policing — investigators could investigate other violations if evidence indicates those exist.

"We'll be looking at things like policies and training and accountability systems," Johnston said. "We often look at misconduct and how the department reacts to misconduct — or if the department reacts to misconduct — and whether those responses are appropriate. As to where there are additional legal violations beyond the three...we will follow the facts and we will follow the law and we will carefully review any information that we receive during the course of our investigation to determine if there are additional areas that warrant investigation beyond these three claims."

The DOJ, in taking a look at the entire Memphis Police Department, will also be looking at its use of specialized units.

Another community member asked about results that came from investigations where a department was found to have violated people's civil rights regularly. Johnston, who was part of the DOJ team that investigated the Baltimore Police Department, said use of force and problems specific to each department have decreased following a consent decree being put in place.

"If we find that a department seems to have issues with foot pursuits maybe leading to violations, we may seek to have particular remedies about foot pursuits in the consent decree," she said. "We have seen, for example, in some departments the use of force rates go significantly down — officers using less force more infrequently than before. We've also seen a reduction in other types of law enforcement outcomes, including stops, searches and arrests."

Tuesday evening's community meeting was the first of many, and various DOJ officials plan to be in Memphis in the coming days, weeks and months to speak with MPD officers, community members, faith-based organizations, city leaders, activists and people impacted by interactions with MPD.

The goal, according to Chris Cotten, assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee's Civil Division, is to have a member of the DOJ from Washington, D.C. in Memphis each month. Cotten, however, will be in Memphis all the time, as he works out of the DOJ's Memphis division.

Lucas Finton is a criminal justice 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: What to know about the DOJ's first forum on its investigation into MPD