Police & jail misconductOversight & ethics enforcementDiscrimination & civil rights

DOJ found reasonable cause to believe Memphis police engage in excessive force and discriminate against Black residents, then closed the case and retracted the findings in 2025

Confidence: Confirmed · 4 sourcesCity of Memphis · Oct 12, 2026

Subject of this story

Memphis Police Department

Paul Young, Mayor of Memphis

U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division

Also named

Oversight

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Tennessee

What happened

On December 4, 2024, the DOJ Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Tennessee released findings from an investigation opened July 27, 2023, stating reasonable cause to believe the Memphis Police Department and City engage in a pattern or practice of excessive force, unlawful stops, searches and arrests, discrimination against Black people in enforcement, and discrimination against people with behavioral health disabilities. The investigation followed the death of Tyre Nichols. The city responded that it was not ready to accept the findings, and Mayor Paul Young said his administration took them seriously. On May 21, 2025, the DOJ Civil Rights Division announced under the Trump administration that it would close the Memphis investigation and retract the findings; the division described Biden-era consent decrees as 'factually unjustified'. No consent decree was put in place.

Sources (4)

U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights DivisionThe Department finds reasonable cause to believe that MPD and the City engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives people of their rights under the Constitution and federal law.

U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public AffairsThe Civil Rights Division is also closing investigations into local police departments in Phoenix, Arizona; Trenton, New Jersey; Memphis, Tennessee; Mount Vernon, New York; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and the Louisiana State Police, and retracting the findings from those investigations.

CNNThe DOJ report found Memphis police officers routinely use excessive force and discriminate against Black residents.

Tennessee LookoutThe U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division announced Wednesday it will close its investigation into the Memphis Police Department and retract a December report addressing constitutional violations by police.

Response

Memphis Police Department

Statement given

Contacted and responded — exact wording not on record.

Paul Young

Statement given

Contacted and responded — exact wording not on record.

U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division

Not yet contacted

Not yet contacted for this story.

What happened next (0)

No outcome recorded yet.

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