MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The ACLU of Tennessee today sent a detailed legal letter to Memphis Mayor Paul Young and Police Chief C.J. Davis demanding strict compliance with the Modified Kendrick Consent Decree as President Trump’s “Memphis Safe Task Force” prepares to deploy National Guard troops and federal agents to the city.
The letter outlines critical restrictions on how the Memphis Police Department (MPD) can coordinate with federal forces while protecting residents’ First Amendment rights to speak out and protest, or free speech, free assembly, and free association.
“The Kendrick Consent Decree represents nearly five decades of protection for Memphis residents’ First Amendment rights,” said ACLU-TN Legal Director Stella Yarbrough.
“Federal and National Guard involvement in local law enforcement doesn’t diminish these protections. In fact, it makes strict compliance more critical than ever. Memphis police cannot use federal coordination as a backdoor to conduct the very surveillance activities this decree was designed to prevent,” she added.
The letter warns that MPD is specifically prohibited from:
Sharing “First Amendment-related intelligence” about activists or protesters with federal agencies without parallel criminal investigations
Coordinating surveillance of political demonstrations or lawful gatherings with National Guard units
Providing federal forces access to city surveillance systems for political intelligence gathering
Bypassing required authorization procedures for investigations that may collect information about constitutional activities
Under President Trump’s memo establishing the task force, federal agencies are directed to coordinate with local law enforcement through “hypervigilant policing” and “large-scale saturation” of neighborhoods. The ACLU-TN letter warns these directives create “multiple pathways for operational and agency confusion and potential violations” of the consent decree.
The federal deployment comes as Memphis police face renewed scrutiny following the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) December 2024 report under the Biden Administration. The report found patterns of unconstitutional and discriminatory policing practices. The DOJ investigation was part of ongoing federal oversight that documented civil rights violations by MPD officers. The ACLU and Stand for Children Tennessee have requested public records from MPD related to these findings, including use-of-force reports and field investigation memos that would help the public understand whether the department is addressing documented misconduct. MPD is the only agency out of seven police departments nationwide to issue a blanket denial of similar records.
MPD’s denial came just months after the Trump Administration unexpectedly redacted findings from the 2024 DOJ report. The timing of Trump’s federal forces arriving in a city already grappling with police misconduct and a lack of transparency raises concerns about accountability and constitutional protections.
“Memphians have constitutional rights that don't disappear when federal agents come to town,” said ACLU-TN Executive Director Miriam Nemeth. “The Kendrick Consent Decree exists precisely because of Memphis's troubling history of surveilling civil rights activists and political organizers. We will not allow that dark chapter to repeat itself under the guise of federal cooperation.”
The consent decree was originally enacted following revelations that Memphis police operated an extensive domestic intelligence unit targeting civil rights leaders, including those associated with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. It was updated in 2020 to address modern surveillance technologies, including social media monitoring and body-worn cameras.
ACLU-TN demands Memphis police immediately establish written protocols limiting information sharing with federal forces, train officers on compliance requirements, and notify residents how to report potential violations through the consent decree website.
The letter sent today can be found online at: https://www.aclu-tn.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/aclu_tn_letter_to_monitor_and_city_kendrick_consent_decree_9.24.25_share_version.pdf
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About the ACLU of Tennessee
The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee (ACLU-TN) is an affiliate of the national ACLU. A non-partisan non-profit organization, for more than 50 years, ACLU-TN has been dedicated to defending the principles of liberty, equality, and justice that are embodied in the U.S. Constitution. For more information, visit www.aclu-tn.org.
