NAACP Demands Suspension Of Memphis Safe Task Force

The Memphis Safe Task Force, mandated by President Donald Trump, has been a source of controversy since its inception. That controversy has only intensified in recent months as several people have died as a result of the task force. The NAACP sent a letter to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche demanding the suspension of the task force following the deaths of two Black men.

The Guardian reports that the NAACP has called for “a thorough, transparent federal investigation” into the deaths of Tyrin Johnson and Darius Chappell. Johnson, a 20-year-old new father, was fatally shot by two National Guard members who were pursuing him. Johnson’s death came two days after Chappell, a 34-year-old father of three, was found dead in a Montgomery County jail cell. 

Sadly, Johnson is only the latest person to die at the hands of the Memphis Safe Task Force. In May, Jessica Neal called 911, hoping to get help for her son, Jonah Neal, who was suffering a mental health crisis. He had a handgun and was threatening suicide. Instead of sending someone from the city’s Crisis Intervention Team, federal agents were sent out instead. Jessica told NPR that within minutes of arriving, a Homeland Security agent had shot her son dead. 

“I want answers,” Cindy Leachman Aldridge, Jonah’s grandmother, told NPR. “Not only for us, but for these other young gentlemen whose family has lost them because of the task force.” 

The NAACP has said that more has to be done in Johnson’s death, as there have been “conflicting reports” on what led to the shooting. “The federal government has unique expertise and skill in investigating law enforcement misconduct, and in the case of Mr. Johnson, there are challenges that arise given the involvement of federal officials,” the NAACP’s letter said.

The NAACP points out that in Chappell’s death, “no officers have been charged, and an official cause of death has not been issued.” Body camera footage of Chappell’s arrest shows that a police dog bit him while officers held him down. So obviously, there are questions as to whether he received proper medical attention while in custody, whether his death had anything to do with his injuries, or whether something else happened while he was in jail.

“There is a need for transparency into the facts surrounding Mr. Chappell’s death. The public deserves facts about the force that was used and the extent to which Mr. Chappell was offered medical care while in custody,” the letter reads. 

NAACP President and Chief Executive Derrick Johnson issued his own statement addressing the Memphis Task Force. 

“The Department of Justice cannot continue to stand by while Black lives are taken. The DOJ has a fundamental responsibility to support, protect, and defend the U.S. Constitution, and that Constitution includes the rights, the safety, and the futures of Black Americans,” Johnson’s statement read.

“When officers fail to deliver equal protection under the law, the federal government must step in with its investigative authority. We will not allow the names of Darius Chappell and Tyrin Johnson to be overlooked.”

Johnson noted that it wasn’t simply the NAACP calling for the task force to leave, but the citizens of Memphis as well. A survey conducted by the NAACP found that 63% of Memphis respondents strongly disapproved of the deployment of the National Guard, and 54% thought it had significantly undermined residents’ safety and trust. 

Several Memphis community groups have spoken out against the harm being done in the city. 

“Enough is enough. How many more times are we going to see police killing our own? How many more times are we going to see these traffic stops in our neighborhoods?” Antonio Cathey, Memphis Central Labor Council Community Coordinator and Director, told WREG. 

“Why are these 18-year-old little kids out here policing the Blackest city in the country?” community organizer Lucci Chambless told WREG. “These 18-year-old kids from Middle Tennessee, from farmland, who have only been told that everybody in Memphis is a criminal, everybody in Memphis is violent and dangerous, and you gave them guns and sent them to police us.”

It’s clear at this point that the so-called Memphis Safe Task Force needs to wrap it up. There was no need for the task force in the first place, as violent crime had already dropped significantly in the city before its deployment. But of course, the federal government will never miss an opportunity to overpolice Black people. 

SEE ALSO:

Memphis Courts And Jails Overwhelmed From Arrests By Trump Task Force

Judge Blocks National Guard Deployment In Memphis

NAACP Demands Suspension Of Memphis Safe Task Force was originally published on newsone.com