Crime dropped after Trump sent officers to Memphis. Not everyone is happy.

Holly Bailey, Washington Post

Even as some officials hail the decline in violence, others warn it has exacerbated racial tensions in the majority-Black city.

MEMPHIS — Since late September, nearly 2,000 state and federal law enforcement officers have surged onto the streets here, helping drive down crime rates. But the crackdown has also sparked tensions in this majority-Black city, with local officials warning of jail overcrowding and racial profiling.

More than 2,100 people have been arrested, and serious crime, including homicides and robberies, has plummeted. Memphis police credit federal agents with helping them find elusive criminals and serve outstanding warrants in a city that has long faced one of the highest violent crime rates in the country. More drivers are renewing their vehicle tags just to avoid being pulled over amid a dramatic uptick in traffic stops.

But some city officials and residents describe President Donald Trump’s Memphis Safe Task Force as an “occupation” and are accusing federal agents of purposely targeting Black and Latino motorists. It has elevated tensions in this majority-Black city where police have long struggled to build trust with communities of color.

The arrests have also added to existing overcrowding issues at the county jail, where a 40-year-old man was found unresponsive in his cell Nov. 1 and later pronounced dead, the 66th inmate to die in the facility since 2019 and the second in a week. It has also overwhelmed the court system, local officials say, and many have questioned the lack of transparency about who is being arrested and why, amid conflicting data from various agencies involved in the task force, including Memphis police and the U.S. Marshals Service.

The original article describes the mixed response to the occupation, despite crime dropping.

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