As the City of Memphis and the US Department of Justice haggle over the response to the DOJ’s damning report on rampant misconduct in the Memphis Police Department, I can’t help but think about a chance encounter I had at a local Chinese take-out restaurant.
It was a week or so after five rogue Memphis cops brutally and fatally beat Tyre Nichols, and the case was still very much national news. The restaurant is almost pure takeout, only a few tables. I go in to pick up my Hunan Beef, pay for it and step aside to wait. A few minutes later, a young black dude comes in — shorts sagging, socks, slides, the whole nine.
He steps to the countertop to ask about an alteration to his order — extra sauce or something else that seems like it should be free but was not. A few seconds later, his voice seems to be escalating, and as he uses his hand gestures, his shirt lifts up just a bit. Is that . . .?
Yup. That’s the handle of a gun.
So, needless to say, I suddenly had a very keen interest in how this disagreement over extra sauce turns out. I keep quiet but alert and attentive. And it’s a good thing I was paying attention too, because as I notice the gun again . . . is that . . . ?
A clip. That’s not a handgun, it’s a machine gun.
This mane can squeeze off a dozen rounds in two seconds and we up in here fussing over sauce.
This mane can squeeze off a dozen rounds in two seconds and we up in here fussing over sauce.
Lee Eric Smith
The drama concludes there, pretty much, y’all. He didn’t get what he wanted, but he didn’t make a fuss about it. I got my food and headed home without issue. But I couldn’t help feeling like I’d dodged a close call. There are so many ways that could have gone wrong.
With Tyre Nichols and MPD in the news at that time, I couldn’t help but ask myself: Is this what Memphis Police have to deal with all day, every day? When even going to pick up Chinese takeout has the potential to become a mass shooting?
That moment was on my mind as I asked Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis about her department’s response to the DOJ investigation. The DOJ press conference was a stark counterpoint to the optimism we’d seen just weeks earlier.
Not even a month ago, Memphis Mayor Paul Young stood at a podium celebrating $1 million in grants for nonprofits tackling the root causes of crime. A week later, MPD was touting lower crime rates and new high-tech crime-fighting strategies, including AI-powered cameras.
Then, in a matter of days, the tone shifted. The DOJ’s findings delivered a devastating reality check, with Chief Davis and Mayor Young facing far tougher questions.
It all feels like a pile-up on I-240 — a collision of competing truths. Yes, there’s measurable progress, so whatever MPD has been doing these past several months has been working. And yes, the Memphis Police Department is undeniably broken, as is the environment it’s policing. Three things can be true at the same time — creating a tension that’s impossible to ignore.
Guns Everywhere, Tension Everywhere
Tennessee’s open-carry law is beloved by suburban and rural conservatives, but in Memphis, its impact feels entirely different.
Here, guns aren’t just a hypothetical constitutional right — they’re a constant, visible reality. The DOJ’s investigation highlighted how often MPD officers escalate situations unnecessarily, but honestly, how do you avoid escalation when nearly every encounter could involve a gun?
“[Open carry] definitely presents a challenge. Memphis is an anomaly, but we’re up to the challenge.”
Interim Police Chief CJ Davis
“When you have more guns on the street, you have more encounters with police officers, especially in communities that already experience high levels of violence,” Davis said when I asked about the firepower her officers face. “The balance is what we try to get to, to make sure that we have a balance that’s fair and impartial and constitutional as well.”
It was a carefully worded answer. But even Davis’ frustration over the open carry law only scratches the surface of the problem.
In Memphis, gun laws — or the lack thereof — don’t just arm law-abiding citizens. They create a free-for-all environment where firearms are easily accessible, whether you’re a teenager at a takeout counter or a repeat offender walking the streets.
“[Open carry] definitely presents a challenge,” Davis continued. “Memphis is an anomaly, but we’re up to the challenge.”
The “anomaly” Davis referenced has layers. Memphis is not only a majority-Black city with entrenched poverty and systemic inequality; it’s also a border city where criminals can slip across state lines from Mississippi or Arkansas to break the law. These geographic and demographic complexities heighten the unpredictability police face and exacerbate the tension.
And yet, it’s that very tension — the endless balancing act between lawful rights and public safety — that sits at the heart of reform.
Police Reform Can’t Fix a Broken System Alone
The DOJ’s findings were damning: Unconstitutional stops and searches, excessive use of force, racial disparities in enforcement, and discriminatory treatment of people with behavioral health disabilities. The report makes clear that systemic reform within MPD is essential.
Even the most comprehensive consent decree won’t solve the underlying problem:
Lee Eric Smith
Memphis is awash in guns, and there’s no national or statewide appetite for meaningful change.
But even the most comprehensive consent decree won’t solve the underlying problem: Memphis is awash in guns, and there’s no national or statewide appetite for meaningful change.
The DOJ’s proposed reforms include better training on de-escalation, clearer policies on use of force, and stronger oversight of officer conduct. These are necessary steps. But will they be enough in a city where officers are forced to operate with the constant fear that any minor stop could escalate into gunfire?
No training manual or policy rewrite can address the gut-level anxiety that comes with policing a city where guns are ubiquitous and tempers can flare in an instant. For real change to take root, Memphis doesn’t just need better police — it needs better laws.
Once again, Memphis needs help from the Tennessee State Legislature.
A City Demands Change
The DOJ’s recommendations, while thorough, exist in a vacuum if they aren’t paired with meaningful changes to the environment in which police operate. Memphis residents know this. In a November nonbinding referendum, they sent a clear message by overwhelmingly voting for stricter gun laws.
The vote was a rare moment of unity in a city divided by so many other challenges. Now, Memphis-based legislators are hoping that this mandate from their constituents will help move the needle in Nashville in 2025. But it won’t be easy — not when the “law enforcement party” won’t listen to law enforcement.
Back in 2021, multiple law enforcement agencies across the state opposed Tennessee’s open-carry law, warning it would increase gun violence. Yet, the legislature pushed forward anyway, prioritizing political ideology over public safety.
The consequences of those decisions play out every day in Memphis, where officers face not just violent crime but an entire culture built around fear and distrust. While the DOJ’s consent decree might address police misconduct, it cannot legislate common sense or compassion into a system designed to perpetuate inequality.
Tension + Trauma = Trigger Fingers
The systemic issues plaguing Memphis extend beyond the DOJ’s report. The pressures of policing take a toll on officers, too — something that became painfully clear in the aftermath of Tyre Nichols’ death.
Emmitt Martin, one of the former officers involved, testified that he was struggling to cope with trauma after being hit by a suspect fleeing in a car in November 2022. Diagnosed with PTSD, Martin described sleeplessness, paranoia, anger issues and “homicidal thoughts” — all of which, he admitted, exploded that tragic night.
This doesn’t excuse his actions. But it forces us to confront an uncomfortable reality: Police officers are people, too. They are operating under immense pressure in a city drowning in guns and distrust. Every split-second decision they face carries life-and-death consequences — not just for the citizens they encounter, but for themselves.
And for the rest of us? There’s that universal moment of tension, like the one I felt in that take-out restaurant. The quickened heartbeat, the hyper-awareness, the feeling that one wrong move could set everything spiraling. Imagine living with that every day, not as a bystander, but as someone tasked with maintaining order in a city where chaos too often feels like the status quo.
Real Reform Requires Real Courage
Memphis finds itself at a crossroads, caught between the DOJ’s call for systemic police reform and the harsh realities of a city flooded with guns, trauma and distrust. The DOJ’s findings demand accountability, and rightly so — excessive force, racial discrimination and unconstitutional policing cannot continue unchecked.
But even the most thorough consent decree won’t change the fact that Memphis officers are policing an environment shaped by Tennessee’s permissive gun laws and decades of systemic neglect. The pressures on MPD are immense. Trauma piles on top of tension, and the cracks in the system widen.
If we want Memphis to be safer — for citizens and police alike — it’s going to take more than new policies and revised training manuals. It’s going to take real courage from state lawmakers to address the root causes of the violence that fuels so many of these encounters.
It’s going to take more investment in mental health, education and opportunity. It’s going to take bold steps to get guns out of the hands of those who shouldn’t have them.
Memphians have already spoken. In November, the city overwhelmingly voted for stricter gun laws in a nonbinding referendum. Now, it’s time for Tennessee’s legislators to listen and act.
Memphis doesn’t need band-aids. It needs bold, systemic change. The DOJ report is an important first step, but it’s just that: One step. If state leaders fail to meet the moment, then this cycle of tension, trauma and tragedy will continue.
