Memphis Police Association sues city, requests judge confirm previous arbitration ruling

Brooke Muckerman, Memphis Commercial Appeal
·2 min read
Signs detailing accounts of the 1978 Memphis Police Association strike can be seen in the hallway of the association's headquarters at 638 Jefferson Ave. The Memphis Police Association celebrated its 50th anniversary and rededicated its headquarters in honor of Congressman Harold Ford Sr. on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023.
Signs detailing accounts of the 1978 Memphis Police Association strike can be seen in the hallway of the association's headquarters at 638 Jefferson Ave. The Memphis Police Association celebrated its 50th anniversary and rededicated its headquarters in honor of Congressman Harold Ford Sr. on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023.

The Memphis Police Association, the union that represents officers in the Memphis Police Department, sued the city of Memphis this week over an ongoing rank dispute.

The counterclaim from MPA, filed on April 4, asks that the court deny a petition by the city to vacate an arbitration ruling and issue a judgment confirming the arbitration.

In an arbitration ruling dated March 9, an arbitrator ruled that the city had violated a memorandum of understanding between it and the union by instituting the new rank. That ruling required MPD to eliminate the second lieutenant rank, and all officers promoted to it returned to their previous position.

Over 120 officers were promoted to the new rank.

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Despite the arbitrator's ruling, the city filed a petition on March 25 to vacate the ruling, arguing the arbitrator did not have the authority to set policy or alter the MOU between the city and the union.

In the city's petition, it requested a Shelby County Circuit Court judge vacate the previous ruling and select a new arbitrator and that a new arbitration hearing be conducted.

The counterclaim stems from the city creating a new rank within the department, second lieutenant, and the MPA claims the city violated the memorandum of understanding between the union and the city by created the new rank.

The new MPD rank ― which is below the since-renamed first lieutenant rank and above sergeants — requires five years of experience, none of which has to be served in an investigative role. The traditional lieutenant position, now first lieutenant, requires seven years with the department, with at least two years in an investigative role.

Brooke Muckerman covers Shelby County Government for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at brooke.muckerman@commercialappeal.com and followed on X, formerly known as Twitter @BrookeMuckerman.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis police union sues city amid promotion dispute over new rank