Memphis City Council votes down resolution about Trump event security in Southaven

Two Memphis City Councilmen's push for the Memphis Police Department to decline to provide former President Donald Trump security during an event in Southaven next week fell short Tuesday.

It is not clear whether the resolution would have been anything more than a political statement by the City Council if it had passed. Public discussion among the council Tuesday showcased the body's widespread disapproval of the former president.

The heated discussion over Trump's security reflected less division over the former president but whether the resolution was the right thing to do.

The Memphis City Council voted 4-4-2 in committee, defeating a resolution sponsored by Councilmen JB Smiley, Jr, and Martavius Jones. The resolution will be up for a full council vote in two weeks, which comes after Trump's visit.

Jones and Smiley introduced the resolution last week. They cited the strained state of MPD personnel and the former president's history of unpaid bills for private security at his events.

"Elected leaders across the country should stand up and say 'no more lies and no more deceit,' Smiley said. Smiley is also running for the Tennessee Democratic gubernatorial nomination. His comments noted the lies the former president has made about the 2020 election.

Trump in Memphis: Two Memphis City Councilmen don't want Memphis police giving former President Trump security

Councilwoman Michalyn Easter-Thomas said the city should not be using taxpayer resources on someone who inspires divisiveness and racist acts. She said the council expected the police department to adhere to its resolution.

"The biggest threat to our democracy is the former president being elected again... We stand openly against hate... The majority of the people of Memphis stand with us. Your vote today will let the people of Memphis know where you stand," Smiley said.

"I don't believe we should be playing politics with security decisions," Councilman Worth Morgan said. Morgan is the Republican nominee for Shelby County mayor. "If there's a request to come forward to MPD, that's going to be for them to evaluate..."

Other members of the council called the resolution a 'slippery slope,' and wondered if it should be passed at all.

"I worry... that there will be a law passed saying that we can't have this type of resolution," Councilman Jeff Warren said, noting the Tennessee General Assembly's proclivity for passing laws that supersede Memphis' authority.

"If we make it about the man, we destroy the office," said Councilman Chase Carlisle. He also issued a critique of the media for covering the resolution and its discussion during a public meeting and not covering the city's budget hearings a few hours earlier.

Councilman J. Ford Canale said he hoped the council would pass similar resolutions for other former presidents and called it a "slippery slope."

"I hate that man with a passion but he was the president of the United States," Councilman Edmund Ford, Sr. said, noting the prospect of violence. "We keep building this man up... I don't want them coming through that door because we are doing stuff like this... We are bringing hate out if we do this."

MPD confirmed again Tuesday that it has not been asked to provide security for the Landers Center in Southaven, Mississippi, event on June 18. It said the same last week in response to questions about the resolution. Trump's scheduled visit is part of the "American Freedom Tour," a private event for which tickets are being sold about 15 miles south of Memphis.

Former presidents receive significant security through the Secret Service, which typically coordinates and requests help from local law enforcement as needed.

MPD Chief CJ Davis told the council the department had not received a request from the Secret Service for security. She said in a typical security situation the police department would escort a dignitary to the city's jurisdictional border and that's where the responsibility would end.

"We will assist in our jurisdiction," Davis said. "It's understood that the jurisdiction will support whether its the sitting president, the first lady, or the former president."

Assistant Chief Don Crowe said the requests for security come from a federal law enforcement agency, the Secret Service, and the department would be assisting a federal agency, not a particular person.

The "American Freedom Tour" responded to the resolution last week. Larry Ward, spokesman for the tour said, “Would the Memphis City Council withhold security for Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, or Joe Biden? Of course, they would not, as it would be preposterous to do so."

Samuel Hardiman covers Memphis city government and politics for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by email at samuel.hardiman@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter at @samhardiman.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Donald Trump in Southaven: Memphis City Council on MPD security