Director tells public: Keep faith in MPD
Rallings rebukes officer accused of murder
After a Memphis Police Department officer was accused of carrying out an on-duty kidnapping and homicide, MPD director Michael Rallings condemned the man’s actions and urged the public to keep faith in police.
“He was not acting as a police officer, he was acting as a criminal,” Rallings said. “And that’s why he’s in jail. He’s been charged. And I hope he never sees the light of day.”
He said in times like these, the public needs the police and the police need the public.
The city saw at least 332 slayings in 2020, far exceeding the previous record of 228 homicides set in 2016.
Many of the homicide cases are still unsolved — and Rallings said the police department relies heavily on members of the public to come forward with tips.
“We’ve witnessed record violent crime, record murder. We’re still in the midst of a horrific pandemic, we witnessed an attack on our nation’s capital. And it’s like every day, you don’t know what’s going to happen next.”
“So, again, we just hope that our community continues to work with us, allows us to build relations and do not allow this individual, this rogue, this criminal, to hinder us from moving forward.”
Rallings spoke with The
Commercial Appeal in a video interview Monday and conducted several similar interviews with other news outlets the same day.
MPD officer accused of kidnapping and killing
News broke Sunday of criminal charges against Patric Ferguson related to a slaying days earlier.
The 29-year-old police officer is accused of kidnapping 30-year-old Robert Howard from a home in Frayser.
Investigators allege he was on-duty when he forced the victim into a squad car, drove him to another place, shot and killed him, and dumped the body. He’s also accused of working with a friend later to move the body and try to hide it.
An arrest affidavit says Ferguson had used his cell phone to research techniques for hiding evidence and had bought items that could be used for sinking a corpse in water, including cinder blocks and chains. The affidavit says Ferguson and another man accused of helping him dispose of the body, Joshua Rogers, confessed to investigators.
Though Rallings condemned the men’s actions and spoke about them as though they are guilty, they have not been convicted of a crime, and defense lawyers could challenge the evidence against them, including the validity of their statements to investigators.
Because Ferguson is currently jailed and has no listed defense attorney, it wasn’t immediately possible to reach him or a legal representative for comment.
A Facebook post that comes from an account with the name and likeness of Rogers, the man accused of helping move the body, said the situation was not what it seemed.
“I’m out on bond and I’m fine, all I can say about the case was that it was a life or death situation for me and I had to do what I had to do to survive and make it out alive,” the post says. “Y’all that know me, know would never do any dumb (expletive) like how the news is trying to make it out to be. So I have a lawyer I’m trying to pay for and we’ll be doing our best to clear my name from the situation.”
The victim’s body was found near Second Street and the Wolf River bridge north of Downtown, the MPD said. Rallings said he didn’t know if the body was found in the water.
The victim’s brother, Kortez Howard, told WREG he believes the killing stemmed from a personal dispute over a woman. Kortez Howard couldn’t immediately be reached for comment by The Commercial Appeal on Monday.
Rallings said the police officer and the victim knew each other, but he declined to speak about a specific motive.
Court update
Ferguson’s initial court appearance on Monday was reset until Thursday, according to online records. He’s still jailed without bond.
The man accused of helping him move and hide the body, Rogers, has been released on bond and had an initial court appearance Monday, according to online records. His next court date is in March.
Neither man has entered a plea.
FBI is working with MPD on the investigation
Rallings praised the MPD investigators who identified Ferguson as the suspect. The case began on Wednesday when the victim’s girlfriend reported him missing from their home — she had used an app to track his phone to an area near Shelby Drive and Lamar Avenue. She found the phone, but didn’t find him. The MPD’S missing persons and homicide bureaus began looking into the case. “This was some great police work,” Rallings said.
Rallings said when he found out about the incident, he spoke with Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich and also personally called Doug Korneski, the top FBI agent in this area.
The FBI’S local Tarnished Badge task force investigates corruption and misconduct among law enforcement officers.
“They’ve been notified, and they’ve been working with our team over the weekend,” Rallings said. “And again, we’re gonna pursue all criminal charges. This is a horrific act.” He said the investigation continues.
Ferguson not fired yet but likely will be soon
Police officers generally have more protections against firing than workers for private businesses. Even while behind bars, Ferguson is still an MPD employee.
Rallings said Ferguson has been relieved of duty and the department has begun the process of firing him.
“I’ve instructed my team that I want this matter dealt with and closed this week,” he said.
Questions about hiring standards
Ferguson was hired in October 2018, the MPD said, making him a relatively new officer. His hiring came as the department made heavy efforts to increase the number of officers on the force.
Ferguson’s personnel records weren’t immediately available Monday.
In the interview, Rallings said Ferguson was a college graduate and there was nothing in his background to suggest he’d commit criminal acts. He also said he wasn’t hired under any sort of waiver — the Tennessee POST Commission sometimes grants waivers to allow departments to hire officers who have a criminal conviction.
The MPD has had seen high-profile cases of officer misconduct in recent years. A former officer, Sam Blue, pleaded guilty last year to charges that he helped a group of criminals who specialized in stalking and robbing drug dealers. Another former officer, Eric Kelly, now faces criminal charges of official misconduct following revelations that he’d had a sexual relationship with a woman he had charged as an accessory to murder.
More broadly, the Black Lives Matter movement has focused attention on police use of force, especially against minority groups. And in Memphis, a longrunning legal battle over police surveillance of protest groups has also highlighted conflict between officers and some members of the community.