Mayor Lee Harris has declared a state of emergency in Shelby County, citing a strain on local resources caused by the surge in federal and state law enforcement deployed to Memphis by Gov. Bill Lee and President Donald Trump.
The declaration, issued last week and announced publicly Tuesday, cites pressures on the county’s already-overcrowded detention centers as a result of an estimated 200% increase in daily arrests made by members of the Memphis Safe Task Force. This state-federal partnership has brought hundreds of outside law enforcement personnel, including the Tennessee National Guard, to the city.
Shelby County includes all of Memphis, as well as a few smaller cities.
The local state of emergency will continue “until the end of Memphis Safe Task Force operations or until detention facility populations are reduced to capacity level or below,” the declaration read. Lee this week said the operation could “last forever.”
True, if you’re already overcrowded, what’s the harm in adding another 200% on top of that with no additional funding?