Memphis police would be handcuffed if the city had a law like the one that took effect in Philadelphia with the mayor’s signature on Tuesday, said Mike Williams, former president of the Memphis Police Association.
Williams was asked about Philadelphia’s move after the Philadelphia City Council — on a 14-2 vote — passed the bill that now is law.
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“I don’t know what the crime rate landscape is in Philadelphia, whether or not young, African-American males are committing much of the crime there, but here in Memphis, when we stop a vehicle for probable cause – tags, taillight, tint – we catch a whole lot of illegal stuff,” said Williams.
“I’ve been stopped by the police. I don’t know if African Americans were being victimized in Philadelphia with excessive traffic stops. But here in Memphis, crime is going up. The homicides, violent crimes, car-jacking are all on the rise and criminals are being emboldened. Each year, we are in one of the top four spots on the list of most violent cities in America.
“A law like that in Memphis would handcuff the police. We have a serious problem with bogus tags, guns, drugs, and runaways. When we make these stops, we get a whole lot of illegal stuff off the street. Already, the police cannot give chase in the city of Memphis. …
“We’ve got to take dangerous people off the streets. Taxpayers, law-abiding people, our seniors are being affected. They are afraid to go outside because of all the gun violence and crime.
“If we do traffic stops on some people, we have to do it for everybody. More and more of our law-abiding people are being negatively affected by all this crime, and we have to address that issue.”
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“I don’t know what the crime rate landscape is in Philadelphia, whether or not young, African-American males are committing much of the crime there, but here in Memphis, when we stop a vehicle for probable cause – tags, taillight, tint – we catch a whole lot of illegal stuff.
“I’ve been stopped by the police. I don’t know if African Americans were being victimized in Philadelphia with excessive traffic stops. But here in Memphis, crime is going up. The homicides, violent crimes, car-jacking are all on the rise and criminals are being emboldened. Each year, we are in one of the top four spots on the list of most violent cities in America.
“A law like that in Memphis would handcuff the police. We have a serious problem with bogus tags, guns, drugs, and runaways. When we make these stops, we get a whole lot of illegal stuff off the street. Already, the police cannot give chase in the city of Memphis. …
“We’ve got to take dangerous people off the streets. Taxpayers, law-abiding people, our seniors are being affected. They are afraid to go outside because of all the gun violence and crime. If we do traffic stops on some people, we have to do it for everybody. More and more of our law-abiding people are being negatively affected by all this crime, and we have to address that issue.”
