ACLU-TN Demands Accountability After National Guard Kills Tyrin Johnson

A young man is dead at the hands of the Memphis Safe Task Force, and we are furious that yet another Memphis family will have to bury a loved one because of the Trump Administration’s failed experiment. This is at least the third known fatality connected to this senseless operation in recent months, following the deaths of Darrin Pigram in May and Jonah Neal, also in May. Tyrin Johnson’s death demands a full, transparent, and independent accounting of exactly what happened when Tennessee National Guard troops opened fire on a civilian. We demand a transparent investigation, not a closed-door ruse that leaves our community in the dark.

Every time federal and state agents flood our neighborhoods with brutal force, the risk of tragedy grows, and Black and brown Memphians are disproportionately paying the price with their lives. ACLU-TN and our partners recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of Memphians who have faced retaliation simply for documenting the Task Force's campaign of terror. Mr. Johnson’s untimely death shows why Memphians and their camera phones are critical in this moment. Because National Guard troops often do not wear body cameras, the community’s ability to document is key to deterring devastating losses like this one. Tyrin Johnson is now another neighbor buried under the false promise of ‘public safety.’ That's three grieving families and three too many deaths. Memphians say no more, and the ACLU of Tennessee joins with them.
— Miriam R. Nemeth, Executive Director, ACLU of Tennessee