Memphis Police Association Files Contempt Motion Against City, Alleges Violation of Court Order in Rank Dispute

The Memphis Police Association (MPA), the union representing city police officers, has escalated its legal confrontation with the City of Memphis. In the ongoing dispute over a police rank structure, the MPA has asked a Shelby County Circuit Court to hold the city in contempt for violating a court order, according to Action News 5. The heart of the issue is the city's creation of the second lieutenant rank, which the court deemed a breach of contract for having bypassed the union's required participation. The MPA's motion for contempt, filed on June 23, requests the enforcement of fines for the city's noncompliance since the March 28 court order.

The crux of the legal battle centers on whether the Memphis Police Department (MPD) should demote those promoted to the contentious second lieutenant rank. City attorneys have been actively appealing the decision, with the latest denial from the Tennessee Court of Appeals, prompting a subsequent appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court, as reported by The Commercial Appeal. In response to what they see as defiance, the MPA alleges that the city has continued to flout the legal process by refusing to demote officers and is urging the court to impose sanctions.

Deborah Godwin, the attorney representing the police union, argued that by creating the new rank, the city undermined the advancement of officers aiming for the lieutenant position and stressed that many of those promoted were not serving in the roles intended, such as field oversight. "48 of the 131 second lieutenants were 'not in the field,'" Godwin told The Commercial Appeal. This finding adds tension to an already contentious issue, suggesting that the new rank might not be serving its stated purpose.

While the legal proceedings drag on, the MPA has called out the city for willfully disobeying the court's order. "The city's failure to comply with the order is willful, intentional, and voluntary and not due to any inability to comply," the MPA stated in the motion for contempt. The union seeks not only compliance with the order but also recompense for the continuing harm it claims union members are suffering due to the city's actions, as iterated in documentation obtained by ABC24. With a hearing originally set for tomorrow, sources indicate that this may be pushed back, further extending a resolution in a fight that is only growing more entrenched.