This story was updated on May 27, 2025, with the correct spelling of Tyré Nichols name.
As Memphis’ new policing reform task force prepares for its second meeting, questions remain about the beliefs and motivations of the nine members and three liaisons tasked with proposing policy changes for the Memphis Police Department in the wake of a scathing U.S. Department of Justice report.
Dubbed the “Integrity Policing Initiative,” according to internal emails, the group will meet monthly and has already met once behind closed doors. While the city previously told MLK50: Justice Through Journalism that future meetings would be public, the March 26 meeting will be closed, officials said Wednesday. The city said the next meeting will be open to the public.
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The group was selected to represent a diverse range of backgrounds and perspectives, retired federal Judge Bernice Donald, who leads the task force, said in an interview. But, the selection process has come under fire for not involving the community, leading some Memphians to question the administration’s commitment to reform.
MLK50 reached out to each member and liaison to learn more about their backgrounds, opinions on the DOJ report and whether they have already identified reforms they’ll advocate for in their role. Their responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Toney Armstrong, former director of the Memphis Police Department who now oversees security operations at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital – Armstrong did not respond to requests to participate in this Q&A by the time of publication.
Lucian Dervan, professor of law and director of criminal justice at Belmont University
Q: What are your main takeaways from the DOJ report and its recommendations?
A: The report and its significant findings clearly establish the need for this task force, and I am thankful that Judge Donald and the task force have been given the opportunity to engage in this work. As we begin to consider these issues, the DOJ report and the recommended measures contained within the report will be invaluable resources.
Q: What are some specific changes you are interested in, and what do you believe should be the top priority of the task force?
A: The DOJ report identifies specific areas for review and contains specific recommendations for the task force to consider. I also look forward to the task force receiving additional information from the community, from experts in the field, and from others as we consider what specific changes should be recommended, such as policies around accountability, training and the areas of focus in the DOJ report.
Q: What unique contributions or perspectives do you bring to the task force?
A: I have spent my career working to create a fairer, more just, and more transparent criminal system. I hope that my experience in this area will be of assistance to the task force and Judge Donald in this incredibly important endeavor.
Daniel Kiel, a constitutional law professor at the University of Memphis
Q: What are your main takeaways from the DOJ report and its recommendations?
A: My big picture impression from the report is that it is documenting so much of what I hear anecdotally about interactions with Memphis police. Therefore, these anecdotes are not isolated incidents. They are, as the report is framed, part of a pattern that permeates the work. While I wouldn’t really say that most of the findings from the report are surprising, I was surprised that many of the recommended changes were not already being done.
Given the responsibilities and authority police have, it was troubling to learn how little proactive attention seems to have been given to addressing issues like excessive use of force without external pressure. I think that underscores one of the most important recommendations that I’m hopeful this task force can demand – improving external oversight and transparency. That is something that local advocates have been pushing hard for over many years and will be an essential piece to any sort of effective intervention.
Finally, the report focused on the connection between policing and behavioral health. Our community’s largely punitive approach to a mental health crisis seems to be not only ineffective but also legally problematic.
Q: What are some specific changes you are interested in, and what do you believe should be the top priority of the task force?
A: One thing that seems to underlie almost all of the other problems highlighted in the report – from excessive force and escalation to racial discrimination in police encounters – is the sheer volume of traffic stops police conduct. There can be improved policies and training, but I am interested in learning about why that volume is so high and how it can be reduced.
Every traffic stop that occurs is an opportunity for something to go wrong, so it seems that we should try to reduce those interactions to situations where the stop is lawful, necessary, and serves a specific and valid purpose.
In addition, as I mentioned above, I think that history suggests the need for external oversight and accountability. That should be a high priority. One of the major themes from the DOJ report is a lack of internal oversight, training and data collection. There obviously needs to be a change to that internal culture.
Given how long these significant problems have persisted, there is a glaring need for not only more eyes on what is happening within the department but also meaningful accountability and consequences. My hope is that the task force can build on what other community advocates have been pushing for in that area and can elevate that as a significant priority into the future.
Q: What unique contributions or perspectives do you bring to the task force?
A: I am a constitutional law professor, and a significant amount of my research focuses on issues of racial discrimination. One lesson that I try to impart to my students is that there can be a large gap between what the law is and how it plays out in the real world.
The DOJ report makes that point abundantly clear with regard to racial discrimination, the constitutionality of searches and the use of force. When those entrusted with enforcing the law are not following it, it erodes trust in the rule of law across the board.
In addition, outside of the classroom, I have worked with people and organizations impacted by the criminal justice system and have seen the human impact of excessive and potentially unlawful contact with the police. The patterns and practices highlighted in the report are not just statistics. They impact people’s lives in enormous ways that can create headwinds for our entire community.
Rev. Rosalyn Nichols, organizing pastor of Freedom’s Chapel Christian Church and organizer of the nonprofit A More Excellent Way
Q: What are your main takeaways from the DOJ report and its recommendations?
A: The DOJ report confirmed for me the experiences and interactions between MPD and the Memphis African American community for decades.
The DOJ recommendations related to training also reflected longstanding asks of community leaders and organizations, and the lack of transparency from MPD regarding these concerns and requests.
Q: What are some specific changes you are interested in, and what do you believe should be the top priority of the task force?
A: The change needed is systemic and cultural. It should include not only training but the basic adversarial approach to policing. For example, it was once believed that neighborhood policing would offer a solution to a more healthy relationship between police and communities. That failed because the culture of American policing is adversarial by nature. And the belief, whether right or wrong, is that the code of Blue is greater than the code of community.
If the task force is to genuinely be effective, it will need to do the heavy lift work of not a short-term list of items to be addressed but establish what the mayor suggested that we could do in terms of oversight without the DOJ. That is addressing and identifying what entity will have real power of oversight in holding MPD accountable for the long-term culture shift needed.
Q: What unique contributions or perspectives do you bring to the task force?
A: I don’t think I have a unique perspective. I personally have not had the experiences with policing in Memphis/Shelby County that I have witnessed or heard from others. That being said, I do strongly believe what I have heard and witnessed.
I trust and believe my fellow citizens and stand in solidarity with them. My unique perspective, I suppose, is also informed by decades of experience in working in justice and equity communities, in speaking with law enforcement and elected officials and most recently, the direct impact of the death of Tyré Nichols, who was not related to me, but I know the family and friends of one of the officers who brutally murdered him.
I have been here before, and so has our community. We have flashpoint moments that have not fundamentally yielded change. I am, therefore, reticent and reserved yet determined to serve in the absence of a larger entity like the DOJ to hold MPD accountable for true transformative change.
Rev. Keith Norman, pastor of First Baptist Church Broad Avenue, also vice president of government affairs for Baptist Memorial Health Care – Norman did not respond to requests to participate in this Q&A by the time of publication.
Zayid Saleem, Shelby County judicial commissioner and former legal adviser to MPD
Q: What are your main takeaways from the DOJ report and its recommendations?
A: The findings within the DOJ report are clearly concerning and reflect poorly upon a department that is responsible for ensuring public safety in our city. From my perspective, it’s critically important to examine and analyze each set of findings to identify the factors that may have led to the outcomes of the multiple incidents cited in the report.
As to the recommendations, every law enforcement agency in the country should be operating under effective policies and best practices relating to the use of force, investigatory stops, searches and probable cause arrests. Improving training and enhancing frontline supervision are also key to establishing constitutional policing practices.
The recommendations regarding racial disparities, behavioral health and responding to youth are issues many law enforcement agencies across the country are struggling with as well. Whether these recommendations are conducive and realistic to the needs of our city is a part of the work the task force is challenged with determining.
Q: What are some specific changes you are interested in, and what do you believe should be the top priority of the task force?
A: It’s much too soon for me to suggest specific changes I am personally interested in or asserting what I believe the top priority should be. This is a very well-rounded group of professionals who view the MPD and law enforcement from their own unique set of lenses.
Having said that, I believe one of our priorities is to ensure when our work is complete, that we have provided MPD with recommendations that support the establishment of effective policies and procedures based on sound law enforcement standards, constitutional-based training recommendations for recruits and officers and recommendations to enhance and improve field procedures and front-line supervision.
Q: What unique contributions or perspectives do you bring to the task force?
A: I’m prepared to work diligently with the task force to help find solutions to improve the MPD. I’ve had the privilege of traveling throughout this nation, teaching and training law enforcement professionals from all over the world. This task force has the potential to make lasting contributions to both MPD and the city, I simply look forward to doing my part.
Amber Sherman, a West Tennessee organizer and policy analyst
Q: What are your main takeaways from the DOJ report and its recommendations?
A: My main takeaways are that Memphians know Memphis and our police department best. The harmful and discriminatory practices we have been sounding the alarm on for over 50 years were detailed in the DOJ report.
The recommendations given were similar to those of community organizations like Official BLM Memphis, Decarcerate Memphis and Memphis Artists for Change. These aren’t new recommendations; they’re unheard and not enacted upon because our safety continues to be put on the back burner for big businesses and corporations who have sensationalized fear. Once again, putting property over people.
Q: What are some specific changes you are interested in, and what do you believe should be the top priority of the task force?
A: The specific changes I’m interested in are removing police from answering mental health calls, providing data reports for all special units, and adding in evaluation methods that would allow noncompliant units to be suspended and de-prioritizing pretextual stops as mentioned by the DOJ. I believe these three recommendations should be top priority.
Q: What unique contributions or perspectives do you bring to the task force?
A: I’m bringing my expertise in legal studies and policy from a community-centered and abolitionist viewpoint to the task force. Not only am I an effective organizer, but I’ve also written and passed legislation locally and statewide.
I’ll be asking the community for input before and after every meeting and posting recaps on social media because I feel like task forces of this nature can be exclusionary to community voices, so I’m purposefully being as transparent as possible.
Lastly, I understand how to write good policy, but most importantly, I can recognize the need for effective accountability measures that have an impact people can see and feel.
Dr. Audrey Townsel, a mental health expert who served as director of mental health services for Shelby County jails and is the founder of Calyx Psychological Services
Q: What are your main takeaways from the DOJ report and its recommendations?
A: The DOJ report provided examples of incidents that support areas of opportunity for policy development and review, training, accountability and oversight. These are concerns that will require involvement and support of all Memphians to create the systemic change within law enforcement that is being demanded.
I trust the leadership and guidance of Judge Donald to ensure that this task force achieves the objectives that have been provided through the recommendations outlined in the DOJ report.
Q: What are some specific changes you are interested in, and what do you believe should be the top priority of the task force?
A: In my opinion, a top priority of the task force is to develop trust within the community through transparency and inclusivity of anyone who wishes to be heard and involved in this process.
My passion and expertise is within mental health systems. Unfortunately, a person in a mental health crisis is more likely to have an encounter with law enforcement and four to six times more likely to be incarcerated compared to the general population.
Memphis is unique in having multiple agencies and community resources for mental health treatment and support, including a state-run psychiatric hospital and a 24-hour mental health crisis center. However, systems are still somewhat disjointed and sometimes difficult to navigate for consumers and families.
Through the work of this task force, it is my hope that Memphians who are experiencing a mental health crisis will have decreased law enforcement encounters, will be diverted from jails and directed to effective community treatment options.
I’m passionate and extremely serious about this work. I have no interest in simply adding additional bullets to my résumé. I would not invest my time and talents in any initiatives that are not going to be brought to fruition.
Q: What unique contributions or perspectives do you bring to the task force?
A: Having worked as a clinician and administrator in multiple mental health systems, including corrections, non-profits, state psychiatric facilities and the state department of developmental disability, I have vast experience in systems analysis, policy and program development and strategic planning.
After reading the DOJ report, I’ve begun thinking about what resources are needed to operationalize the mental health recommendations in realistic, obtainable and actionable ways. My vision as a member of the task force is an extension of what I have done as a professional for many years, which is to advocate for better treatment for people who need mental health support and treatment, and to eradicate any practices that lead to traumatic experiences.
Austin Wyatt Sr., a cross-disciplinary scholar specializing in criminal justice injustices who works for Shelby County Government and is completing a Ph.D. in urban affairs from the University of Memphis – Wyatt did not respond to requests to participate in this Q&A by the time of publication.
Liaisons to the Integrity Policing Initiative
The task force also has three liaisons who attend meetings but cannot vote. Michelle Taylor, Shelby County Division Director for Health Services, resigned on March 3 and requested that her replacement be someone with “lived experience with the justice system,” according to a statement from the Shelby County Health Department. A new liaison has not yet been named.
Rob Brown, owner of Da Sammich Spot restaurant and resource hub in Orange Mound
Q: What are your main takeaways from the DOJ report and its recommendations?
A: My primary takeaways from the DOJ report center on how frequently supervisors and higher-ranking officials were involved in covering up misconduct or failing to hold officers accountable. The report contained disturbing and inhumane accounts, but for many in Memphis, these were not revelations — they were confirmations of what we have been saying for decades. Issues like over-policing, abuse of authority and dereliction of duty have long plagued our communities. However, what has been missing is a real mechanism for holding department leadership accountable for enabling and, in some cases, directly participating in these egregious actions.
Q: What are some specific changes you are interested in, and what do you believe should be the top priority of the task force?
A: I would like to see a shift away from excessive police surveillance toward a model where officers build genuine relationships with community stakeholders — not just business owners, but the residents themselves. Community trust cannot be built through intimidation. Additionally, reallocating funds currently used for military-style weaponry toward mental health services and community-driven initiatives would be a step in the right direction.
That said, the top priority should be accountability. The individuals named in the DOJ report — officers, supervisors and leadership — must be held responsible for their actions. Without real consequences, no amount of policy change will create lasting reform.
Q: What unique contributions or perspectives do you bring to the task force?
A: My experiences give me a unique perspective on the issues at hand. I was caught in the school-to-prison pipeline and spent nearly eight years in federal prison from the ages of 18 to 26. Since my release, I have spent nearly a decade working in advocacy and community-building efforts.
Professionally, my background is in recruitment, outreach and program retention. As a founding team member of The Collective Blueprint, I helped thousands of young adults from Memphis’ underserved communities access career opportunities in IT, trades, and healthcare. Through that work, I encountered countless stories of young people who faced systemic injustices at the hands of law enforcement.
Now, I am opening Da Sammich Spot Restaurant and Resource Hub to address some of the gaps I see in my community. My lived experiences, coupled with my professional expertise in outreach and program development, allow me to bring both firsthand insight and actionable solutions to this task force.
Janika White, attorney and member of the Memphis City Council – White did not respond to requests to participate in the Q&A by the time of publication.
Katherine Burgess is the government accountability reporter for MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. Contact her at katherine.burgess@mlk50.com
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