Tag: Memphis Police Department

Federal Judge Orders New Trial for Ex-MPD Officers Convicted in Tyre Nichols Case

On By kingsjesterIn PoliticsLeave a comment

Just like every major city in the United States of America, my hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, has had its share of corruption. going back to the days of the notorious Boss Crump.

Within my lifetime, Memphians have borne witness to the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King Jr and the infamous Ford family of municipal and state politicians whose  corruption carries on to this day.

I’m pretty sure that’s why Harold Ford Jr. got the heck out of Dodge and moved up to the Northeast.

In September 2018, Chamber of Commerce President Phil Trenary was on South Front Street near G.E. Patterson, coming home from running in a race held in Downtown Memphis when someone in a white truck drove up and shot him. The suspects then took off.

He had previously been CEO of Pinnacle Airlines and was a tireless advocate for Memphis.

Two men were later arrested and tried on lesser charges than murder, and given 25 and 35 years respectively, with time served, which knocked off 5 years.

Their story was that they were looking for somebody to rob. In the trial, the Defense argued that one of the men was mentally impaired because of alcohol and cocaine in his mother’s bloodstream.

The question remains to this day: What are the odds that they would choose the President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce?

What started me thinking about the subject of corruption was the news that came out late this week concerning the former Memphis Police Officers found guilty of the murder of Tyree Nichols.

Per WashingtonExaminer.com,

“A federal judge on Thursday granted three former Memphis Police Department officers  convicted for their roles in the death of Tyre Nichols a new trial due to concerns about judicial bias.

Nichols’s death while in MPD custody in Tennessee sparked nationwide protests and calls for police reform in 2023 due to accusations that he was unfairly targeted and treated by law enforcement during a traffic stop.

The case took a new turn this week when Chief United States District Judge Sheryl Lipman granted Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith a new trial because of concerns that Judge Mark Norris, who oversaw the previous trial in which the three men were convicted last October, was biased against the officers and the MPD.

Norris recused himself from the case days before the officers’ sentencing, leading Lipman to take over proceedings in June.

Lipman said she believed Norris made rulings that were “sound, fair, and grounded firmly in the law.” However, “the appearance of judicial bias against the MPD created “an unconstitutional probability of bias” requiring a new trial, she wrote.

“Justice must not only be done but must manifestly be seen to be done,” she said in the ruling, arguing that the perception of bias could undermine public confidence in the verdict.

The concerns about the appearance of bias against the MPD stem from an incident involving one of Norris’s law clerks who had assisted the judge during the Nichols trial.

After the clerk was attacked in a separate shooting, Norris met with federal prosecutors and an FBI special agent about the incident, and alleged during that encounter that “at least one” of the MPD officers charged in the Nichols case was also involved in targeting his clerk.

During the May 2025 meeting, the judge also said that the MPD was “infiltrated to the top with gang members,” an assistant U.S. attorney present at the meeting said, according to court documents.”

Mark Norris is known as a very honest man and a very fair and smart judge.

Sheryl Lipman is a Chief US District Judge appointed by former President Barack Hussein Obama.

This whole thing stinks to high heaven.

If gangs have indeed infiltrated the Memphis Police Department from top to bottom and if the shooting of Judge Norris’s Clerk was done to intimidate the judge to drop the case or to recuse himself as he did, then this case screams for the FBI to look into it.

Given the crime rate in the outrageous number of homicides, carjacking, assaults, and robberies in Memphis, which are now moving like a crippling fog spreading to the suburbs including those across Mississippi State Line, I believe that Memphis needs a Clean Sweep Operation such as was just ordered by President Trump and carried out by the National Guard.

Just like other Democrat-run cities, the Memphis mayor and his administration have gotten in front of the cameras and said they would not cooperate with such an operation.

Perhaps, it’s not just the Memphis Police Department that the gangs have possibly infiltrated.

Just like every law-abiding average American, Memphians deserve to be able to enjoy the city that their tax money pays for without fear.

Until He Comes,

KJ

Racial Division, the Great Society, and the Thin Blue Line: The Story of Darius Stewart

On By kingsjesterIn PoliticsLeave a comment

th6IXIUQ3HOn August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, said the following, while delivering a very famous speech at the base of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.:

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Unfortunately, sir…we aren’t there , yet.

On July 22, 2015, The Huffington Post reported the following story…

Memphis police have identified the white officer who fatally shot a black teenager during a struggle after he was placed in the back of a squad car at a traffic stop.

The officer is 26-year-old Connor Schilling, who has been with Memphis police since 2012. Schilling has been relieved of duty – a routine procedure – pending an investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation into the death of Darrius Stewart, 19, at a hospital after he was shot Friday night. The state police agency has said it is not clear how long the investigation will last.

On Monday, Shelby County district attorney Amy Weirich and Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong told reporters they requested the outside investigation. They did not answer questions, but in his statement Armstrong mentioned the deaths of black men during altercations with police officers in other parts of the country.

At a news conference Wednesday, the Rev. Keith Norman, president of the Memphis chapter of the NAACP, expressed condolences for Stewart’s family and said members of the community should have patience as the investigation unfolds.

“We’re often saddened and disappointed at the slow process toward finding justice in police involved killings,” Norman said, adding later that the community should not rush to judgment about a shooting that could “ultimately divide our community.”

Police said Stewart was a passenger in a car stopped by the officer for a headlight violation. Stewart was placed in the back of a squad car without handcuffs as the officer checked on two active warrants for Stewart from Iowa and Illinois, police said.

The officer returned to the squad car to handcuff Stewart after a warrant was verified, police said. Stewart kicked the door, attacked the officer and began hitting the officer with the handcuffs, police said.

Police said the officer then shot Stewart with his duty weapon.

Relatives have questioned whether Stewart was mistakenly identified as the person with the outstanding warrants. Dozens of people attended a vigil for Stewart on Tuesday.

Police said Tuesday that Schilling was suspended a year ago for a DUI arrest. Criminal charges were dismissed, but he received 18 suspension days without pay. Police said Schilling also has one closed excessive/unnecessary force case found to be not sustained in 2013.

Yesterday, the local CBS Affiliate, WREG, reported that

On Thursday, as WREG pressed to learn when details into Darius Stewart’s death would be made public, his family made a plea to keep that information private at least for now.

The parents of Darius Stewart have asked for answers in their son’s death since he was shot by Officer Connor Shilling in July.

Thursday their attorney filed a motion requesting a judge delay the release of the TBI’s investigation.

“We’d just like an opportunity not be heard about the release of that information to them first,” said Attorney Murray Wells.

Wells’ motion stated several reasons why they are intervening in the release of the TBI findings.

The contents  include intimate details of the final moments of their son’s death, and he said the parents have a right to know what’s in those files before the public.

Not doing so would cause them irreparable harm.

“The intention is not to block anything. The intention is to be able to let the family digest what’s happened before they get bombarded by the press and the public,” said Wells.

The chancellor hasn’t set a date to hear the motion.

This news comes just days after a Grand Jury decided not to indict Memphis Police Officer Connor Schilling in the death of 19-year-old Stewart.

Officer Connor Schilling doesn’t face any criminal charges in the case, but was charged with violating department policies for handcuffing and radio procedures.

So, after vowing to bring in the NAACP and the Department of Justice to get “justice” for their beloved Darius, all of the sudden, the family does not want these records released.

I wonder why. Perhaps one of the reasons is Darius’ criminal background.

On July 21st, the local ABC Affiliate reported that

…Police said he had out-of-state warrants and when the officer tried to put Stewart in handcuffs, he kicked the door of the squad car and attacked the officer.
    
That is when the officer shot him
 
His mother insists it was a case of mistaken identity. Getting information on this has been difficult because both of the warrants were issued in 2009 when Stewart was 13-years-old.
    
Both Iowa and Illinois restrict information on juveniles.

A passerby shot this video. He says it shows the police officer and Darrius Stewart tussling around just moments before the officer shot Stewart.

The officer said he was about to handcuff Stewart and arrest him on outstanding warrants when Stewart attacked him.

Memphis police said one of the outstanding warrants was a sex charge out of Iowa. The other a failure to appear in Illinois.

The local I-team has uncovered this Iowa City juvenile court complaint from 2009 that charges Darius Stewart with two counts of sexual abuse for committing sex acts on two children under the age of 12. 

What else is hidden in Darius’ background?

A common thug, who, like Michael Brown before him, who, in death, was on the verge of being built up to be someone to protest and possibly riot over.

As a lifelong (56 years young) resident of the Memphis area, I continue to witness the dissolution of the once strong and proud Black American Family Unit.

I am also, as are most of you, bearing witness to Black and White Liberal Politicians making excuses for the out-of-control, self-inflicted genocide of 13% of America’s Population, as they blame it on “Racial Inequality”, while a Black Man sits behind a desk in the Oval Office at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, holding the most powerful leadership position in the Free World.

America’s Far Left Political Activists, including the President of the United States, have, for almost a year and a half, been attempting what is known in both sports and military strategy, as a “misdirection” play.

While these politicians and paid protesters shout about “equality” in front of every television camera that they can get in front of, at the same time, here in the real world, black children are being born into a situation which handicaps them from the start: the burden of an illegitimate birth and the reality of a fatherless home.

How many black children are being born out of wedlock?

Among non-Hispanic blacks, the figure is highest, at 72.2 percent; for American Indians/Alaska Natives, it’s 66.9 percent; 53.5 percent for Hispanics; 29.4 percent for non-Hispanic whites; and a mere 17.1 percent for Asians/Pacific Islanders.

These Americans, unlike the majority of us, are growing up without appropriate parental guidance, i.e., no one teaching them “the way in which they should go”

Why is this happening? How did we get here?

Back in the 60s, President Lyndon Johnson (whose big hand I once shook, at his ranch, as a little boy, after his presidential term) and the Democrats, brought forth a plan, called “the Great Society”. It was decided, in order to ensure that everyone would have an equal opportunity in America, that Uncle Sugar would step in to fill in the gaps.

Two seminal pieces of legislation were passed.

First, the Civil Rights Bill that JFK promised to sign, before his assassination, was passed into law. This Act banned discrimination based on race and gender in employment and ending segregation in all public facilities.

It also helped to cement in stone, minorities’ loyalty to the Democratic Party, which continues to this day.

The second bill that LBJ signed into law was the sweeping ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY ACT OF 1964. It created the Office of Economic Opportunity whose stated purpose was to attack the roots of American poverty. A Job Corps was then established to provide vocational training.

A preschool program designed to help disadvantaged students arrive at kindergarten ready to learn, named HEADSTART, was then established. Then came VOLUNTEERS IN SERVICE TO AMERICA (VISTA), which was set up as a domestic Peace Corps. Schools in impoverished American regions would now receive volunteer teaching attention. Federal funds were sent to struggling communities to attack unemployment and illiteracy.

What Johnson told Americans, as he campaigned in 1964, was that the establishment of this “Great Society” was going to eliminate the problems of America’s poor.

It had the opposite effect

The Great Society created a dependent class, which, instead of diminishing as it’s members joined the workforce, increased from generation to generation, relying on the federal government to provide their every need.

Uncle Sugar became Mother, Father, Preacher, and Doctor to generations of Americans. This “plantation mentality” continues to this day.

Instead of moving forward, by exercising the self-reliance that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preached so well, these people I saw, were content on being “taken care of” by Uncle Sugar, as if being held down by their own poor, miserable circumstance, was a good thing.

Since August of 2014, the results of LBJ’s “Great Society” have been the lead story in seemingly, every television newscast, on every newspaper front page, and on every internet news/political website.

Dr. King, I am sorry to tell you that racism and injustice is still going on in America. Unfortunately, it will not end any time soon, There are too many race-baiters profiting off of it.

Including, the President of the United States.

The part of your magnificent speech about “the content of their character” has been purposefully ignored by professional race-baiters, the “perpetually aggrieved”, and assorted politicians, all seeking their own fortune and glory.

Dr. King, your call for self-reliance took a back seat to their self-serving agenda, a long time ago.

Until He Comes,

KJ

Memphis: #BlueLivesMatter

On By kingsjesterIn Politics2 Comments

11705359_10204866260559105_7158163699480644935_nPolice know that, every time they leave their loved ones to go on their shift, it may be the last time that they see them.

Saturday Night was the “End of Watch” for Memphis Police Officer Sean Bolton.

And now, there is a murderous coward on the loose in the Memphis Area.

Foxnews.com reports that

A suspect has been identified in the search for a gunman who shot and killed a Memphis police officer during a traffic stop, the city’s police director said Sunday night.

A warrant for first-degree murder has been issued for 29-year-old Tremaine Wilbourn, who is believed to be the shooter, Police Director Toney Armstrong said at a Sunday evening press conference.

Wilbourn is currently on supervised release for a 121 month sentence for robbery of a banking institution, Armstrong said.

Officer Sean Bolton, 33, may have interrupted an illicit drug transaction when he encountered a Mercedes-Benz illegally parked on a Memphis street Saturday night, according to Armstrong.

After Bolton illuminated the Mercedes with his spotlight, he approached the vehicle and was confronted by its passenger, who allegedly shot Bolton multiple times after a struggle, the director said.

Armstrong told reporters that 1.7 grams of marijuana was found inside the vehicle.

“He’s a coward,” Armstrong said of the suspect, Wilbourn, “you gun down a police officer for less than two grams of marijuana.”

“Last night we lost an officer and a great man, a dedicated servant and family member,” Armstrong said.

The police director said that the White House has contacted the department and is aware of the incident.

The United States Marshals Service has offered a $10,000 reward for Wilbourn’s capture.

The driver of the vehicle turned himself in to authorities Sunday morning, and has since been released without charge, Armstrong said at the press conference.

Police were initially alerted about 9:18 p.m. Saturday that an officer had been shot multiple times. Armstrong said the officer was transported in critical condition to a hospital, where he died.

In a statement Sunday morning, Memphis Police said that a civilian had used Bolton’s radio to notify police about the shooting.

Armstrong said police are using all available resources to find the shooter and that officers are grieving, adding that “this is just a reminder of how dangerous” the job is. 

“Sadly to say, we’ve been here before,” he said.

Bolton is the third Memphis officer to be fatally shot in slightly more than four years. Officer Tim Warren was killed while responding to a shooting at a downtown Memphis hotel in July 2011. In December 2012, Officer Martoiya Lang was killed while serving a warrant.

Memphis Mayor A.C. Wharton Jr. said Bolton’s death “speaks volumes about the inherent danger of police work” and asked others to “pray for the family and pray for our city.”

“The men and women in blue have certain rules of engagement that they have to follow, but at any given minute in a 24-hour day they’re dealing with folks who have no rules of engagement.

As I have mentioned before, I am a lifelong residence of the Memphis area.

I am also a member of a family who have had police officers in our ranks.

This cold-blooded murder took place in the area of Memphis, known as Parkway Village, an area which, in the 70s and 80s, was a strong middle-class neighborhood.

I know. I spent my high school and college years there, from 1972-1980.

My Mother and Daddy lived there, until they passed in 1995 and 1997, respectively.

In fact, when I was in college, and living at home, I received a speeding ticket on Cottonwood at Perkins, where this heinous murder took place.

I was doing 45 mph in a 35 mph, in my 1967 Plymouth Fury III, which had a 383 4-Barrel in it.

But, I digress…

I find it interesting that the White House is involved, considering the national racial animus against Police Officers has been cheered on by the occupants of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Every race-baiter, local & national, who have fanned the flames of racial hatred, has the blood of brave police officers, like Sean Bolton, on their hands.

The Great American Broadcaster, the late Paul Harvey, was the son of a policeman who died in the line of duty. He wrote the following tribute for one of his daily updates…

“What is a policeman?

“A policeman is a composite of what all men are, I guess, a mingling of saint and sinner, dust and deity. What that really means is that they are exceptional, they are unusual. They are not commonplace. Buried under the froth is the fact, the fact is that less than one half of one percent of policeman misfit that uniform, and that is a better average than you’d find among clergymen.

“He of all men is at once the most needed, and the most wanted, a strangely nameless creature who is sir to his face and pig or worse behind his back. He must be such a diplomat that he can settle differences between individuals so that each will think he won, but, if a policeman is neat, he’s conceited, if he’s careless he’s a bum, if he’s pleasant, he’s a flirt, if he’s not, he’s a grouch.

“He must make instant decisions that would require months for a lawyer but if he hurries he’s careless, if he’s deliberate, he’s lazy. He must be first to an accident, infallible with diagnoses. He must be able to start breathing, stop bleeding, tie splints and above all, be sure the victim goes home without a limp.

“The police officer must know every gun, draw on the run and hit where it doesn’t hurt.

“He must be able to whip two men twice his size and half his age without damaging his uniform, and without being brutal. If you hit him he’s a coward, if he hits you, he’s a bully. The policeman from a single human hair must be able to describe the crime, the weapon the criminal, and tell you where the criminal is hiding but, if he catches the criminal he’s lucky, if he doesn’t he’s a dunce.

“He runs files and writes reports until his eyes ache to build a case against some felon who will get dealt out by some shameless shamus. The policeman must be a minister, a social worker, a diplomat, a tough guy, and a gentle man. And of course, he’ll have to be a genius, because he’ll have to feed a family on a policeman’s salary.”

After Officer Bolton was murdered, Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong (who happens to be black) said,

As a community we say so often as a theme — black lives matter. And at the end of the day, we have to ask ourselves, do all lives matter?  Regardless of race, creed, color, economic status, what profession that person holds. All lives matter. And this is just a reminder of how dangerous this job is.

…One life is too many, but how do you put a value on somebody’s life? How do you say one life is more important than another. So, again, what we need more than anything right now is just your prayers again for this MPD family as well as this officer’s family.

Without respect for our legal system, and for those in authority, whose job it is to enforce our system of laws, a civilized society can quickly evolve into a scene from The Lord of the Flies, where the most barbaric will have the most power and privilege. In other words, they will rule by intimidation.

The overwhelming majority of America’s Municipal Policemen become a part of the Thin Blue Line out of a sense of service to humanity.

Lord knows they don’t do it for the money.

Patrolman Bolton was one of those selfless Civil Servants.

He died in service to humanity…you and me.

Godspeed, Office Bolton.

May God hold your Loved Ones in the hollow of His hand.

Until He Comes,

KJ