Three Memphis Police Department officers have been suspended pending the outcome of an investigation into an encounter and series of events that ended with 25-year-old Martavious Banks in the hospital as the result of an officer-involved shooting.
Banks still was listed in critical condition at Regional One Health Medical Center on Tuesday evening. His encounter with police began Monday evening when he was pulled over on a traffic stop at Gill and Pillow in South Memphis.
The names of the officers had not been released by the time of this report. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has been asked to investigate the shooting.
“The Memphis Police Department made me aware today of new information related to last night’s shooting,” Shelby County Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich said in a prepared statement Tuesday afternoon. “Based upon this information and with the full agreement of the Memphis Police Department, I have asked the TBI to conduct the investigation.”
Memphis Police Department Director Michael Rallings addressed the shooting incident during a media briefing Tuesday evening. He said the initial encounter at Gill and Pillow was captured on an officer’s body-worn camera.
Banks reportedly fled the initial scene and was shot during a subsequent encounter following a foot chase. The officer who shot Banks did not activate his body-worn camera, Rallings said.
And two officers involved in the initial stop later deactivated their body-worn cameras or their in-car video systems during the pursuit, Rallings said. They were relieved of duty pending the investigation’s outcome.
Other officers at the shooting scene did have their cameras activated, he said.
While the MPD was capable of handling the investigation properly, Rallings said the TBI’s entry added to transparency.
“There are many questions that still need answering,” Rallings said, noting MPD would move forward with its internal investigation.
“Let me assure you that I will get answers and we will hold officers accountable.”
