Shelby County DA Sues Over 2 Task Force Oversight Laws as Petition Nears 10,000 Signatures
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 17
Shelby County DA Sues Over 2 Task Force Oversight Laws as Petition Nears 10,000 Signatures
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 17
Summary
Nearly 10,000 people signed a petition urging Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy to drop his lawsuit and disclose how his office handles Memphis Safe Task Force cases.
Mulroy’s May suit challenges two Tennessee laws: one requiring reports every 10 business days on dismissed or settled task-force charges, and another allowing the state attorney general to audit cases and seek a temporary prosecutor.
Mulroy says the measures unfairly single out Shelby County, infringe on a locally elected prosecutor’s discretion and duplicate reporting his office already provides under Tennessee law.
Supporters of the task force tie the transparency push to its first-year results: the White House says it produced 12,747 arrests, while Memphis crime fell nearly 36%, though city data had already been improving before the federal surge.
The fight comes as the operation faces competing pressures — Republican criticism over lenient case outcomes and a separate federal lawsuit alleging aggressive policing and retaliation by task force agents.