Mayor to Get Consultant to Review Police Force

From [HERE] and [MORE] Mayor A C Wharton has said he wants a complete review of the incident. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will complete an independent review. Wharton critizized the department calling it  unacceptable (see tv video).  Memphis Police have not released the name of an off-duty Memphis Police officer involved in a shooting on Monday night.

Police say they responded to the scene around 8 Monday night and found a teen shot. He was taken to the Regional Medical Center where he died. Family of the teen said he is 15-year-old Justin Thompson. Apparently he was chased and shot to death by a Memphis Police officer. Police have refused to provide details of the shooting to the public. A neighbor said that before the boy collapsed in her yard he stopped running and asked her to call an ambulance for help because he had been shot. 

His mother, Shirley, said Justin left to walk to the store with his two brothers, however his brothers returned and he did not. She said minutes later, she could see police lights outside of her home.

“He said your baby been shot, your baby has been shot,” said Shirley about a neighbor who told her the news.

Witnesses said they saw Justin get into a black car minutes before they heard the gunshots. They said Justin was running through their yards telling them to call an ambulance.

Police say the off-duty officer was not injured. They have not said how he was involved, nor have the released his name. Shirley Thompson thinks the officer shot her son and she wants answers about what happened, “Something needs to be done about this. An innocent 15-year-old. He was innocent, a sweet boy.”

Mayor A C Wharton Jr. is ordering a review of internal police procedures following repeated cases of alleged officer misconduct. He said Tuesday that he is bringing in an outside consultant with a law enforcement background to look into the Memphis Police Department's procedures on officer accountability, recruitment and hiring practices, education and training, and the effectiveness of the department's internal affairs arm.

Wharton said the consultant will have the full cooperation of the police department. The mayor acknowledged that jobs are on the line, depending on results of the review.

The mayor has called for similar investigations of the city's general services and animal services departments in the past. The current probe also will involve the city's code enforcement department.

The department has been the subject of several recent cases of alleged officer misconduct. Last week, federal authorities charged a Memphis officer with sex trafficking, saying he made a deal while on duty to take prostitutes to work at a party.

Police also have confirmed that an officer involved in a crash that killed two people in late August did not have his lights or sirens on, a violation of police policies. And, in February, former officer Norman Benjamin was sentenced to eight years in prison for shooting himself, then lying about being shot by a Hispanic man. Benjamin also tried to hire someone to kill the boyfriend of a 17-year-old girl he was trying to date.

Wharton said he gets approached by Memphis residents frustrated about officer misconduct, a sign that unethical behavior erodes public trust.

"We cannot deny that it's time to take an overall look at that," Wharton said.

Wharton said he wants to prevent the hiring of officers with a propensity for unethical behavior, noting that some officers accused of breaking laws or department rules are young and inexperienced.

"It's disappointing to me for the mayor to perceive the department as being in an unacceptable state," Armstrong said.

Police Director Toney Armstrong did not provide details of the boy's shooting, citing the ongoing investigation. Wharton did acknowledge that Monday night's shooting was related to an attempted robbery.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has been asked to help investigate the shooting, Wharton said. The officer, whose name has not been released, has been relieved of duty pending the investigation.