NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – For two weeks, Memphis has endured an influx of National Guard troops after President Donald Trump announced his intention to deploy them in cities. On Friday, residents finally learn more about the plan, and it looks very different from the developments in Los Angeles and Washington, DC.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Friday that the military will be part of a surge in federal resources to the city to combat crime, including 13 federal agencies and state police officers. The National Guard Forces are from Tennessee and they are represented by the former US S-Service to assist local law enforcement agencies.
The Republican governor said the military would not make arrests and would not arm unless local law enforcement officials demand it. Lee previously said he doesn’t think more than 150 security members would be deployed in Memphis, but he later said that the numbers were still in the planning stages.
“The Memphis crime story is likely to be a story of the past,” Lee confronted city, state and federal officials, including the Mayor of Memphis and the police chief at a press conference in Memphis.
What Lee calls the “Memphis Safe Task Force” will begin operations next week, he said. He couldn’t give an accurate timeline, saying it would occur in stages when institutions began to deploy resources to cities. He said agents from the FBI, Alcohol Bureau, cigarettes, firearms and explosives would arrive next week. He said he would not declare a state of emergency.
“Memphis is a world-class city. Before us there is a generational opportunity to make Memphis a safe city,” Lee said.
A post on the city’s website states, “Securities and women can be easily identified with the standard uniforms they wear every day. Security and women do not wear masks.”
“Armorned tanks are not the resource used in this mission.”
President Donald Trump announced on Fox News on September 12 that he would next send the National Guard to Memphis. He signed an order on September 15th to set up a law enforcement task force for the mission.
