On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Situation Room,” Memphis City Council Chairman J. Ford Canale stated that federal officials in the city have helped since the city’s police department was too short staffed to find violent criminals with warrants and they don’t have details about the National Guard, the National Guard can be helpful.
Canale said, [relevant remarks begin around 55:20] “The National Guard situation is still pretty fluid. There are a few here, but they have not started patrolling or doing exactly what their tasks are going to be. And that is still a little bit up in the air as to what they’ll be doing. But the federal agencies that are here and that have been making arrests [have] been welcomed by law enforcement. Look, last night, I got the opportunity to see several of them. And seeing these men and women from [multiple] agencies getting to know each other and working together to all solve one common goal, one mission, to lower the violent crime rate in Memphis, was very refreshing. And I think every Memphian can get behind that. We all want a safer city for ourselves, for our children, and for all of our tourists that come and see our great city on a weekly basis.”
Co-host Pamela Brown then asked, “So, how does it compare, the arrests that they have made so far, as I said, 93 arrests and seized 20 illegal firearms, how does that compare to how it was before this federal crime crackdown?”
Canale answered, “I don’t think I can give you an exact number, but it’s definitely ramped up. There are warrants that were out there that the MPD, from short staffing, [has] just not been able to find all of the people, the violent criminals, but also, a great stat is the 28 illegal guns off the streets. I know they’ve seized drugs as well.”
Later, he added, regarding the National Guard, “[W]e haven’t gotten exact details of what they’re going to be doing. In D.C., they did more cleanup. They helped with the homeless population. They can help patrol. They can help with high-traffic areas during our sporting events. I haven’t gotten any details on what exactly they’re going to be doing, but I don’t think it’s going to be training. I think it’s going to keep them active. But, look, they’re used to keeping their assets safe and protected and clean as well on their base. So I think, look, this could be a really big win, all of us working together to clean up the city, both literally and figuratively. And I think that we could — at the end, when this is all over, I think we have a great model that will work for years to come.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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