Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee joined state and local officials in Memphis Friday morning, Sept. 26, to announce the start of the Memphis Safe Task Force. 13 federal agencies will begin collaborating with local police starting next week in what he calls a “phased operational approach.”
Since President Donald Trump authorized the task force, city leaders’ primary concern has been on the potential presence of Tennessee National Guard troops.
At Friday's press conference, Mayor Paul Young noted, "There’s a lot of feelings, passion and emotions, whether you’re for it or against it.”
Mayor Young previously said he was unhappy with the decision to deploy federal troops to Memphis. His tone was more conciliatory Friday, promising to use the numerous resources coming to the city to continue a downward trajectory in the crime rate. According to MPD data, the overall crime rate recently hit a 25-year low.
Gov. Lee called the surge of personnel from agencies such as the FBI, ATF and US marshals service a “generational opportunity” to focus on violent criminal offenders.
"Never before has a city in this country had access to the level of resources that is about to be made to the City of Memphis," he said. "There's no city in America that has access to the resources we're about to get."
Lee said the federal task force would be chaired by the U.S. Marshals Service. In addition, more than 300 Tennessee Highway Patrol officers will be assigned to the region. He also said $100 million in state funds will be granted for technology and Downtown public safety efforts.
"The goal is lasting safety and the mission will be sustained," Lee said.
He did not specify the number of guardsmen that will be deployed, or when they might arrive in the city. The scope of their deployment would be determined by needs communicated by the Memphis Police Department. Troops would not, initially, have the power to make arrests.
"The guard will not be armed except and unless the local law enforcement makes requests for that," Lee said. "So this is mission dependent."
In contrast to President Trump’s robust support for using the military to fight crime, Gov. Lee emphasized the benefit of having a diverse array of federal resources available to fight crime in the city.
Calling Memphis one of the "future great cities of America," he said this multi-agency push would help with a long-term transformation of public safety.
"This is not the start of a crime fighting effort. This is the acceleration of a crime fighting effort," he said.
