Strickland speaks out on Banks shooting
Mayor says ‘we will get to the bottom of this’
There had been around 40 camera violations in the Memphis Police Department prior to the shooting of Martavious Banks, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said in a news conference Friday.
That police might have also turned off their cameras before shooting and critically wounding Banks Monday is “disturbing,” he said.
“I’ll say it again: It’s unacceptable, it’s inexcusable and it will not be tolerated, period,” Strickland said. “We will get to the bottom of this.”
Strickland did not know what disciplinary action has been taken in the past for officers violating camera policies.
The problem is officers not following policies, Strickland said, not that new policies need to be in place.
Whether names of the officers involved are released is “100 percent” up to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which was brought in to investigate partly due to the cameras being turned off.
Strickland disputed the idea that the officers involved were rookies, although he also said they were not veterans of the police force. At least one was “relatively new,” he said, but would not give details.
The Memphis Police Department will investigate whether policy was violated with the cameras while the TBI will investigate the shooting, Strickland said.
As of Friday morning, Banks remained in critical condition at Regional One Hospital.
Strickland said there was “no partic-
ular reason” he has not called Banks’ mother, but that he would be open to a conversation.
“What I would tell her is obviously I hope her son gets better,” Strickland said. “I have been praying for all those involved in this incident. We will have an honest and thorough investigation into this matter.”
Strickland said he has full faith in Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings and his leadership team.
On Tuesday, the police department announced that some police officers involved in the shooting appeared to have improperly switched off body or vehicle cameras, leading the agency to turn the investigation over to the TBI.
The circumstances of the shooting are murky, though the police department has said Banks was armed and that a gun was found at the scene. Banks’ family has disputed the police account, saying he was shot in the back.