DOJ must end Memphis law enforcement surge as questions linger in deaths of Black men, says NAACP

Source: MS NOW News

Jul. 10, 2026, 12:48 PM EDT


The NAACP is demanding acting Attorney General Todd Blanche end the Memphis Safe Task Force, alleging the law enforcement surge has carried out violence against Black men in Tennessee. In a letter obtained first by MS NOW, the NAACP is demanding the Department of Justice open an investigation into recent incidents in which Black men died in law enforcement-related incidents.

The White House launched the Memphis Safe Task Force in September as a part of the Trump administration’s National Guard deployment to Democratic cities across the country. The force includes officers from the Tennessee National Guard, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies. While similar deployments were blocked by courts in some cities, the National Guard deployment in Memphis has remained and Tennessee’s Republican governor has embraced the law enforcement presence.

The NAACP cites a young Black man fatally shot last week, allegedly by two members of the Tennessee National Guard, who were working as a part of the Memphis Safe Task Force. Law enforcement officials say Memphis police officers and National Guard members had been engaged in a foot pursuit of a man with a handgun. The situation reportedly escalated and the National Guard members shot and killed the man. The reason for the escalation remains under investigation.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has opened an investigation into two recent law enforcement-related deaths, including the shooting, but the NAACP says that is “not enough,” citing a lack of transparency, including local law enforcement’s delay in releasing any body camera footage from the shooting incident that might exist.

Read more: https://www.ms.now/news/doj-must-end-memphis-law-enforcement-surge-as-questions-linger-in-deaths-of-black-men-says-naacp