Memphis colonel speaks out against 'anti-police' agenda at city council
Memphis Police Department's Ret. Col. Darrell Sheffield speaks out against ordinances passed by city council that he said limited officers' ability to prevent crime.
A retired Memphis police officer who served on the force for 35 years was shut down by the city council from speaking out against restrictive ordinances he believed was "pro-criminal" and to the detriment of public safety.
"I disagree with the whole idea of placing restraints on police officers in legally enforcing the law," Ret. Col. Darrell Sheffield told Fox News Digital. "I mean, if you don't want to be stopped by a police officer, basically stop violating the law."
Memphis is one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S. The likelihood of being a victim of a crime is 1 in 39.
City council voted to put in place new stringencies on law enforcement's practices in response to the matter of Tyre Nichols, who died during a confrontation with Memphis police after he was pulled over for a traffic stop.
Ret. Memphis Police Department Colonel Sheffield attempts to speak out against "pro-criminal" ordinances at city council.
"The crime rate is steadily increasing, and you're going to come in and restrict the police from actually proactive policing…. You are just voting and or putting in laws that allow criminals to continue their activity as and specifically here," said Sheffield.
Sheffield said that he was asked to speak at the meeting by one of the council members, to offer his expertise on law enforcement matters. He was shocked when he was refused during the public comment.
The council chairman, Martavius D. Jones, asserted committee rules, and demanded Sheffield provide his address to prove he resided in Memphis, which Jones did not repeatedly request from other speakers during public comment.
"So I will not be allowed to speak having served the city of Memphis 35 years?" asked a dumbfounded Sheffield.
Ret. Coll. Sheffield speaks to Fox News Digital against "anti-police" agenda at Memphis city council. (Fox News Digital | Getty)
"We appreciate your service to the Memphis Police Department but… I'm going to have to be a stickler for the rules for both sides today."
Sheffield told Fox News Jones had waived the rules when it worked in his favor on other occasions. "So if you're going to suspend the rules for different things, why can you not listen to somebody who's been on the police department 35 years?"
Jones did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He had said during the meeting, "We are very happy to see all of you here engaging in the process. And yes, we do believe in the First Amendment."
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"The ordinances… were anti-police," Sheffield explained.
Other measures voted into law by city council included race-tracking those the officers pulled over for the purposes of "eliminating bias from law enforcement practices." The ordinance reasoned that Black people are pulled over more often for offenses, such as speeding, and this must be minimized for equity purposes.
The Memphis city council voted on an agenda to bring in ‘equity’ and end ‘police brutality.’ (iStock)
"[D]ata collection… [is] essential to ensure that police promote public safety in a[n]… equitable manner," the agenda said about officer's requirements to document races of all parties involved in encounters.
"[P]eople of color are disproportionately pulled over, arrested, and incarcerated and often face harsher consequences; and [the]… data can inform local law enforcement agencies and the public about possible differential treatment in traffic stops, arrests, and use of force or the lack of evidence thereof… to end police brutality," the ordinance said.
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For example, there were restrictions placed on officers using unmarked cars, which Sheffield believed would be detrimental to preventative encounters that tamp down on crime.
It also encouraged officers to give warnings, instead of tickets, in cases where there is "a violation of which the driver may not be aware" and when there is "a minor traffic infraction committed in those areas where traffic crash occurrences are minimal or non-existent."
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