Tennessee DA's, law enforcement lash out after Mulroy's controversial op-ed on officer training

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Multiple Tennessee District Attorneys, along with other members of law enforcement, lashed out after Shelby County's District Attorney criticized the way officers are trained in a controversial op-ed piece in "USA Today."

In Saturday's Op-Ed, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy expressed "dismay" at how law enforcement officers are trained; this came after two people were shot and killed by Memphis Safe Task Force agents in early July.

Mulroy described his experience at a use-of-force training hosted by a private company: "Apparently, the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis was justifiable. So was the police killing of Eric Garner in New York City... Good training can reduce the need for police use of force. My own experience with the training, sadly, did not give me confidence."

Following Mulroy's op-ed, state and local law enforcement leaders have responded.

Mark Davidson, President of the Tennessee District Attorneys Conference Executive Committee and DA of Tennessee's 25th Judicial District in Tipton, McNairy, and Lauderdale Counties, issued a statement on behalf of eight current and former District Attorneys from across the state.

In the statement, Davidson said Mulroy only spoke on his own behalf and not for Tennessee thirty other elected District Attorneys. "This is not the first time he has chosen to speak for himself," Davidson wrote. "He has mused about the benefits of a diversion program for convicted felons illegally possessing firearms, made agreements in lawsuits to further his own ideology at the expense of the other thirty-one districts, and routinely taken positions that do not reflect the thoughts or beliefs of his fellow elected prosecutors."

"We have remained silent. We will no longer," Davidson wrote.

He went on to say Mulroy suggests that prosecutors who don't file charges in officer-involved shootings are enabling the idea that officers using deadly force are simply excused. "That portrayal is inaccurate, irresponsible, and unfair to prosecutors across Tennessee who make these difficult decisions every year. His words are reckless."

Collierville Police Chief Dale Lane also responded, posting an open letter on social media Sunday, saying he's disappointed "with the District Attorney's decision to evaluate police training through the lens of a single class and handful of controversial cases."

"There is a vast difference between analyzing a crisis from the safety of a desk and experiencing it in real time. Investigators and critics have months to evaluate a file, while officers have mere fractions of a second to make split-second, life-altering decisions," Chief Lane wrote.

"I hope District Attorney Mulroy will reconsider his stance and work alongside us to support the overwhelming majority of dedicated public servants in our region."

Mulroy gave the following statement in response to the recent criticism:

"These people that are responding, rather than getting defensive and circling the wagons and seeing criticism where none actually exists, and killing the messenger, why aren't they focusing on the very real problematic issues with this training? That's what we should be talking about. We should be talking about whether it's okay to have a training that says, 'just throw them in the ambulance and let them die there'."

The Tennessee Fraternal Order of Police provided the following statement: 

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Force Science, the private company that hosted the use-of-force training course Mulroy attended, also issued a statement responding to his op-ed, saying in part: "Mr. Mulroy's description of our course is so disconnected from our documented teaching that it would be laughable if the accusation were not so serious... He relies on discredited academics, unsourced quotations, and long-disputed controversies while bypassing the nuance, context, and scientific discussion those subjects require."

Their full statement can be found below:

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