A former Memphis police officer has been slapped with a battery of federal charges, including civil rights violations, in connection with the fatal shooting of an individual known only as R.H. Patric J. Ferguson, the ex-cop in question, is accused of kidnapping and cold-bloodedly shooting the victim in the head while on duty back in January 2021, according to an indictment made public by federal authorities.

The charges against Ferguson do not stop at the alleged execution. They extend to a purported conspiracy to sweep the grisly incident under the rug, with the accusation that Joshua M. Rogers, a civilian, played the role of Ferguson’s accomplice in a cover-up that reads like a crime novel. The duo is charged with conspiring to dispose of R.H.'s body in the Wolf River, Memphis, and erasing the evidence of their disastrous deeds, per the indictment obtained by the Justice Department.

Rogers isn't just facing conspiracy charges, but also that of an accessory after the fact as he's accused of getting rid of the vehicle used to cart R.H.'s body by trading it at a scrap metal dealership. The case that lays out these disturbing events unfolded today in the Western District of Tennessee, where Ferguson was formally indicted by a federal grand jury.

The heavy hand of the law is being laid down by Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and U.S. Attorney Kevin G. Ritz for the Western District of Tennessee. According to their joint announcement, their teams alongside the FBI Memphis Field Office, and the local Memphis Police Department left no stone unturned in investigating the case. Facing the consequences alongside Ferguson, Rogers too will face a jury of his peers for his alleged role in trying to bury the truth along with R.H.'s body.

The prosecution is now in the hands of Assistant U.S. Attorney David Pritchard from the Western District of Tennessee and Trial Attorneys Maura White and Tenette Smith, from the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section, who will strive to pierce through the veil of alleged betrayal of the badge. The full weight of justice hangs over the heads of Ferguson and Rogers, as they await their fate to be determined in the court of law.