23-05-2025
City leaders defend crime-fighting efforts after FBI Director comments
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis Police and some community leaders are responding this week after the FBI director called Memphis the 'homicide capital of America.'
Just days after the FBI director Kash Patel dubbed the City of Memphis the homicide capital of America, questions arise as to how the city will respond to crack down on crime.
'I'm not going to misrepresent the issues; I want to be clear. We know that we have a crime problem in our community, but I also want everybody to know that we're turning the ship,' Memphis Mayor Paul Young said.
City leaders and MPD top brass are rolling out the results of a sweeping law enforcement operation called Operation Rolling Thunder. They call it precision policing, resulting in the arrests of 160 people, including 50 known gang members.
To the residents of Memphis, we hear you and we're taking action,' Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis said. 'Not with words, but with results.'
29 of 49 Rolling Thunder suspects already out of jail
From MPD to a grassroots effort to stop crime. Community leaders from several different organizations are calling for a Memorial Day cease-fire and a campaign known as 'Put the Gun Down. And Stop the Killing.'
'It's affecting everyone from southeast Memphis, Cordova, Downtown, Midtown, everywhere. Everyone is getting affected by this senseless crime,' said Cam Mtenzi, founder of the House of Mtenzi. 'But I can say this. I'm a strong believer of hope. Faith!'
'Well, we are losing the battle. We have lost three, four generations to senseless gun violence, lack of education, drugs. And I feel like. It's time we must stand now. Our backs are against the wall,' said Keith Leachman, founder of Stop the Killing/Cut the Beef Community Development.
Memphis mayor: 'The era of unchecked violence in our city is over'
But some other leaders question some of the recent crime-fighting displays and efforts by MPD. Dr. Earl Fisher, senior pastor with Abyssinian Baptist Church, says he and others will be watching closely the actions of MPD as it tries to fight crime.
'We have to be careful and cautious not to confuse public safety with public relations,' Fisher said. 'I know many of us are cautious when we think about task forces, when you think about the specialized units and the history of what happened with Tyre Nichols, knowing that the DOJ is no longer investigating or providing oversight of the police department.'
Fisher says the answer to crime and violence is not just hiring more police, but also addressing problems such as poverty and inequality.
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