On Tuesday, two Tennessee jail officials were accused of assaulting a Memphis prisoner who was hurt but managed to live.
According to court documents, deputies Odell Underwood and Reginald Wilkins of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office have been charged with official misconduct, official oppression, and assault with bodily harm.
Damian Florez-Ramirez, a prisoner at Shelby County Jail, sustained injuries during the altercation with Underwood and Wilkins in May, according to county district attorney Steve Mulroy at a press conference.
Mulroy said that while the shackled prisoner was being transported to a correctional medical center, the deputies attacked him. Mulroy stated that earlier in the day, Florez-Ramirez had attacked a deputy jailer and had been struck by a “chemical agent.”
Although Florez-Ramirez’s injuries were not life-threatening, they were not immediately made public. The inmate’s attack details were likewise kept secret.
According to Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner, Underwood and Wilkins had “troubling conduct” and had to be brought to justice.
During the press conference, Bonner stated that although the jailers have been freed of their duties without pay, they have not been sacked. According to Bonner, the jailers will also be charged by the department.
If Underwood and Wilkins have attorneys to comment on their behalf on the charges, it is not evident from online court records. Florez-Ramirez is still incarcerated on allegations of child rape and domestic violence. Florez-Ramirez’s attorney is not listed in court or prison records for those charges.
Nine Shelby County deputies were accused in September of the murder of Gershun Freeman, who was fatally beaten at the same jail in October 2022 while experiencing a psychotic episode.
When Freeman fled his cell nude, correctional officers assaulted him, according to footage that was made public in March.
Seven deputies are accused of aggravated assault resulting in death, and two deputies were charged with second-degree murder.
At a recent hearing, six of the nine deputies entered not guilty pleas. Not entering a plea, three more people informed the judge they had not been able to hire attorneys.
In addition to pledging to assist in raising funds for their legal costs, Bonner has backed the nine deputies accused of assaulting Freeman.
Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis Faces Questions on City’s Violent Crime Trends
Many people in Memphis are gravely concerned about crime.
This includes those who belong to the Memphis Rotary Club, which Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis spoke to on Tuesday.
“Auto thefts are a serious problem in our city,” she stated. “On average, 35–40 cars are stolen every day.”
She cited statistics indicating that the majority of car thieves are between the ages of 16 and 18.
And they are focusing on a limited number of brands and models.
“We have provided steering wheel locks to owners of Hyundai and Kia vehicles, and you know what? These cars are no longer the most often stolen ones.”
These days, Davis remarked, it’s Nissans.
The Memphis Police Department (MPD) is concerned about the over 13,000 automobiles that have been stolen this year, but they also want to concentrate on removing dangerous offenders from the community.
The police chief stated, “We have averaged about one homicide per day this year.” “I’m not just talking about the two years I’ve been here—we see more guns on our street now than we have in Memphis history.”
According to Davis, officers’ tasks are becoming harder as a result of the revolving door at 201 Poplar.
“We arrest 53 percent of people who have committed violent crimes, so a lot of it is to deal with repeat offenders,” the police chief stated. Our city might see a decrease in violent crime if we could only address that 53%.
According to Memphis Police, the two top “crime drivers” in the city during the third quarter of 2023 were auto thefts and thefts from motor vehicles.
Police data in Memphis shows that 4,179 automobiles were stolen between July and September. That is compared to 3,422 automobiles that were stolen during the same time period in 2022.
MPD also stated that Nissans became the third-most stolen automobile in Memphis during the third quarter of 2023, with 568 Nissans taken throughout the quarter. Kia’s and Hyundai’s remain the most targeted automobiles in Memphis, with 810 and 744 being stolen over the time period, respectively.
Police statistics also indicated that violent crimes surged throughout July and September of 2023, with 1,477 violent crimes reported this year compared to 1,314 reported during the same time period in 2022.
July began the quarter with 36 murders, matching June for the second-highest monthly total. So far in 2023, only March had more recorded murders at 39. In September, 23 murders were reported, according to MPD records.
Memphis hit a new homicide record in 2021 when 346 were reported, including 304 murders. The city had a decline in homicides and murders in 2022, ending with 302 and 247, respectively.
Trend between the ages of 16 and 18 throughout this period. Some folks in Orange Mound have a solution to the situation.
