WKNO TRANSCRIPT
CHRISTOPHER BLANK (Host): As the Memphis Safe Task Force continues, city and county leaders aren't quite on the same page. With us to talk about some of those differences is Mike Carpenter, principal with Carpenter Civic Strategies and a former county commissioner. Thanks for joining us.
MIKE CARPENTER: Thank you.
BLANK: Mike, you may have seen Tuesday's dueling press conferences: City Mayor Paul Young appearing with Gov. Bill Lee to talk about the numbers of arrests. And then county mayor Lee Harris saying those numbers may suggest some racial profiling. We know neither mayor is happy with the full scope of the task force, but how are Harris and Young different in their public stances, and why does it matter?
CARPENTER: Well, I think in the case of Mayor Young, he's between a rock and a hard place. And so he's made the determination that rather than be antagonistic toward the state and toward a legislature that he's going to have to ask for additional funding for various projects and support to try to work with the task force and make the best of it. With Mayor Harris, on the other hand, his term ends next year. And also, I think he is known as a true outspoken progressive. And so, I think he's really staying true to his values on this issue, talking about the constitutionality of it. And of course, that's his background as a lawyer and a law professor. And so, he's really, I think, committed to the rule of law in this case.
BLANK: You know, both mayors say in their public statements that they are in constant contact with the task force leaders. But I'm starting to get a sense from these press conferences that they don't really have much influence. What's your impression?
CARPENTER: Yeah, I think that's exactly right. I mean, I think they're being updated, they're being told what's going to happen to an extent. But I think at the end of the day, there's not a whole lot that they can can do to stop what's happening. And I think one of the other tell-tale signs of that is how often Gov. Lee and others from the state and federal side are commenting about the collaboration. It's sort of like they're over-emphasizing the collaboration that's taken taking place to assure folks that it's happening when it's probably not all that collaborative.
BLANK: Mike, as a former public official, you probably felt the frustration of living in a county where so many vehicles had no tags, were unregistered. Now with state troopers pulling over people for very minor infractions, there are reports of long lines at clerks offices, people finally getting their cars in order. Could this have happened without the task force?
CARPENTER: It is a good thing that folks are getting their tags in order and being compelled to do that, if they can afford to do that. I mean, I think part of the concern that I and others would have is that a lot of these pre-textual stops are getting folks caught who are maybe trying to get to a job or trying to get children to child care and really can't afford it. It doesn't mean that they should be excused from the law, but I think that the implications for someone in that situation are far greater than me having expired tags.
BLANK: And what do you think about the numbers of people that are being caught in these stops that have marijuana or illegal firearms? Is that a good thing for the community?
CARPENTER: When I heard Gov. Lee saying there are 854 arrests of violent criminals and known gang members, that's just simply not correct. You know, what my sources tell me is that more than half of those are non-violent offenses and that the biggest category, the largest categories —I think Mayor Harris pointed out —are immigration. Look, I think we're all for for tamping down violent crime and holding those criminals accountable, but for those minor infractions, I think that we're creating some additional problems along the way.
