Archives for June 2015

“As we enter the final stretch of this campaign, we need your support more than ever!”

Following a string of incidents in 2012 and 2013 involving police harassment, excessive force, and arrests made while people were filming police, Memphis United assisted individuals involved with filing complaints through Internal Affairs and used this opportunity to document the process for filing complaints against officers, a process which presented numerous barriers that prevent average civilians from filing or seeing the investigation through to the end. Once an Internal Affairs investigation has been completed, unsatisfied complainants are supposed to be able to appeal to the Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board, created by ordinance of the City Council in 1994 after MPD officers shot and killed a 68 year old resident of Orange Mound.

The board was created as “an independent, non-police Mayoral Agency with…the power to receive, investigate, hear cases, make findings and recommend action on complaints,” but from the start, it was clear that there were obstacles to the board being able to function as intended. Before passage, elments critical to CLERB’s success were removed from the ordinance. Without the power to subpoena documents, records, or additional testimony from officers, and without dedicated staff to conduct dedicated investigations, it quickly became apparent that CLERB ability to investigate complaints was entirely dependent upon the willful cooperation of MPD. Officers would be summoned and without consequence, would refuse to participate. CLERB had trouble obtaining relavant documents and policies to inform their work from the department.

Once complainants were notified of the completion of Internal Affairs’ investigations, members of Memphis United attempted to contact the Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board. Calls were made to a number listed on the description of CLERB posted to the City of Memphis website. Voicemails seeking appeal of the complaints before CLERB went unreturned. Open records requests filed to obtain CLERB’s minutes from the past several years revealed something even more troubling-the board hadn’t met to review a complaint since 2011. The board had been quietly disbanded uner the Wharton administration without notice to the public or City Council, a violation of City Ordinance. Once this was brought to the attention of the public by the Memphis United Coalition, the Mayor’s office quickly scrambled to make new appointments, while sending mixed messages to the public, clamining the board was still in existance. While the Mayor’s office was busy making new appointments, Memphis United drafteda resolution which passed unanimously through council, empowering MU to do reseach on national best practices and hold a series of townhalls in each council district to gather public input.

Memphis United spent the next year surveying the public and researching review boards in other cities, and recently delivered their findings to the City Council in the form of a detailed report which was delivered to the full council in February 2015. Based on these findings Memphis United proceeded in drafting an ordinance to amend and strengthen the Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board, and finally givie the board subpoena power and dedicated staff, among other things. Despite public oposition from MPD and the Police Uniion leadership, In April 2015, MU’s ordinance made it before committee, and was passed to go before the full Council . As with any ordinance, three readings are required before the final vote and ther must be at least 7 votes in favor for it to pass.

CALL TO ACTION

We have recently learned that our final reading is set for Tuesday, July 7th. While we are working hard to nail down the seven votes needed, we have reached a moment in this campaign where public support is more critical than ever. During final reading, the ordinance will be discussed by council, amendments will be taken, etc. The public is invited to pull comment cards, and given two minutes to speak on any issue up for discussion. We need YOU to join and support us at City Hall (125 N Main Street), July 7th, at 3:30PM and help insure the safe passage of an important piece of legislation with more than 20 years in the making.

Individuals can make a big difference NOW by contacting their City Councilpersons and urging them to support Memphis United’s recommendations for a stronger, more just Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board. We have created a simple webased tool at memphisunited.org that allows you to quickly contact all of your City Council people at once–check it out, then get your friends and family to do the same!

Organizations can help support these efforts by drafting formal letters of support to the full Council. You can also assist by encouraging your members to attend Council with us on Tues, July 7th.

For more information, please contact Organizing Coordinator, Paul Garner, paul@midsouthpeace.org or (901) 725-4990.
facebook.com/memphisunited  @Memphis_United

For the past year, the Memphis Bus Riders Union has worked with riders and MATA staff to develop a vision for improving the Will Hudson Transit Center downtown, commonly known as the North End Terminal. This vision has been collected into a 16-page report that outlines a list of concrete recommendations, spanning five issue areas: Safety, Sanitary Conditions, Customer Service, Public Engagement, and Quality of Life. MBRU will present this report to the MATA board during their June board meeting, and ideally they will set aside funding specifically for renovating the terminal. For more information and to see the full report, click here.

While gathering material for this report, it’s become obvious that the conditions at the terminal promote a separate and unequal system that has favored trolleys for tourism, while neglecting the needs of daily bus riders. Conditions inside and outside the terminal are not only unsanitary, but also unwelcoming. For example, there are 19 signs inside and outside of the station that say “No panhandling, no loitering, no soliciting” but not a single sign on the side of the station that faces the trolley stop. The trolley side of the building also has nice trash cans and landscaping. Moreover, contracted security guards are enforcing a “no sagging” rule which is not a law or a MATA policy. One white guard has even been accused of shouting racial slurs.

Since the report was drafted, we’ve seen it covered by WREG 3, the Commercial Appeal, and the Memphis Flyer. A MATA spokesperson’s response to WREG’s recent report on the unsanitary conditions was that “people who use the facility need to treat it better,” which is laughable when millions of dollars have been poured into Central Station and the trolleys and no substantial renovations have been recently done to the North End Terminal. As a matter of fact, MATA knows that improvements are needed; MATA board member Chooch Pickard said about the bathrooms, “It’s horrible. It’s like third-world conditions.” We’ve also seen some changes happen already: the bathrooms have new floors and have been repainted, and a mop bucket of old bleach water that was next to the vending machines has been conspicuously moved from its usual spot.

But there’s still an uphill battle left: presenting the report to MATA at their June board meeting and getting it adopted. Be on the lookout for more updates from MBRU, and come out to our meeting on June 13!