Memphis United launches #CLERBspeakout2014 campaign to improve Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board
Memphis United urges Memphians to come forward about their troubling experiences with law enforcement through participation in a series of public forums.
For Immediate Release– Wednesday June 11th from 4:30pm 5:15 pm at the Caritas Village at 2509 Harvard Ave. Paul Garner, and Chris Merritt, and Journalist Deborah Robinson, will be speaking about their experiences with MPD, which prompted each of them to file complaints with Internal Affairs. They are standing with Memphis United, asking for people to come forward to share their experiences and suggestions on how to make the Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB) more effective through social media and participation in a series of public input forums throughout the city. The Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board according to the City of Memphis website, would be “an independent, non-police Mayoral Agency with … the power to receive, investigate, hear cases, make findings and recommend action on complaints.”
Over the years public confidence in Memphis Law Enforcement officials has come into question when, again and again, people have had troubling experiences with some officers of the Memphis Police Department. Recently, police officers have been accused of embezzlement, harassment, theft, sexual assault, excessive force, domestic violence, child abuse, and the list goes on. So, what happens when civilians have to report those who are sworn to protect and serve?
“I never expected to be put in a situation where I would have experienced police brutality. I was truly traumatized and disappointed that someone who was to shield me from danger could mistreat me so bad. I would have not known what to do if someone didn’t walk me through the process,” says Chris Merritt, who was recently maced and beat up by officers when he attempted to film his interaction with MPD on his phone.
“This is about balancing the scales, currently the only process for filing a complaint against M.P.D. is through M.P.D. If we want to restore any confidence in law enforcement, the citizens whose safety is in their hands need a process to ensure real transparency and accountability. If we are going to create that process, we need input from people in the community who are most affected by these issues,” Paul Garner, Organizing Coordinator with HOPE (Homeless Organizing for Power & Equality).
The only process available for someone filing a complaint against an officer, is to go, in person, to either a Memphis Police Department precinct workstation or to Internal Affairs. Many know first hand that this process is covert and can be drawn out over the period of several months. CLERB has been inactive for over four years. Even when CLERB was active, it had almost no power; no punitive authority, no subpoena power, and officers’ envolvement in the process was purely voluntary. CLERB was also limited in that it was only permitted it to review investigations that have already been completed by the MPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau.
Journalist Deborah Robinson, Paul Garner, Chris Merritt are standing with Memphis United asking for people to come forward to share their experiences and suggestions on how to make the Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board more effective through forum participation and social media to improve accountability of law enforcement.
“We will be kicking off the first town hall style forum in Super district 8, on June 24, 2014 Lewis Davis CME Church @ 6:00 p.m. In the meantime, we are creating ways for people to utilize social media to share their experiences with law enforcement through twitter and Facebook using#CLERBspeakout2014 . People can also share their ideas on how to make CLERB more effective using #MYCLERB ,” Marquita Bradshaw Organizer Coordinator of Mid-South Peace and Justice Center.
Memphis United began as a grassroots response to the 2013 KKK protest of the renaming of Nathan Bedford Forrest Park. Now this body is refocused on issues of police accountability and looking at community led comprehensive criminal justice reform.
Memphis United is a grassroots coalition made up of The Memphis Center for Independent Living, Homeless Organizing for Power and Equality, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, Subliminal Thought, The South Main Cypher Series, Memphis Bus Riders Union, Pro-Memphis Project, Manna House Memphis, ADAPT of Tennessee, LOUD, All Saints Church, The Bridge: Memphis’ Street Newspaper, and the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center.
For more information call 901-725-4990 / marquita@midsouthpeacew.org