Candidates for Memphis mayor talk youth curfew, Tyre Nichols lawsuit in crime debate

Memphis mayoral candidates speak during a debate at the Halloran Centre on Monday, April 24, 2023. The debate was presented by the Daily Memphian.

Five candidates for Memphis mayor said Monday that they support enforcement of a curfew for youth, but had differing visions of how such a curfew should be enacted.

Talk of enforcing a youth curfew has increased in recent weeks after The Commercial Appeal first reported on a proposed Juvenile Crime Abatement Program, a program since put on ice after facing fierce criticism for proposals to target youth for activities including “solicitation of candy” and being “inappropriately dressed.”

While candidates gathered at The Daily Memphian’s first mayoral debate either criticized or did not directly address that program, they spoke favorably of a curfew, which has long been on the city books but not enforced.

“The problem is not that there should be a curfew, we all would agree that no child needs to be outside after midnight or close to midnight, but instead of investing all the effort into putting them aside, finding a holding place, why not invest that effort on the front end, giving them some place to go?” said Michelle McKissack, a member of the Memphis-Shelby County School Board.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools board member Michelle McKissack speaks during a Memphis mayoral candidate debate at the Halloran Centre on Monday, April 24, 2023. The debate was presented by the Daily Memphian.

Paul Young, president of the Downtown Memphis Commission, said the pushback against the Juvenile Crime Abatement Program was not due to the idea of a curfew, but because the program would have utilized profiling.

The Downtown Memphis Commission has met with MPD, the district attorney’s office and others to discuss how the curfew could be implemented properly, Young said, which would include needing community partners to provide a place to hold youth picked up by police after curfew.

Downtown Memphis Commission President Paul Young speaks during a Memphis mayoral candidate debate at the Halloran Centre on Monday, April 24, 2023. The debate was presented by the Daily Memphian.

Businessman JW Gibson suggested increased use of juvenile court to hold youth breaking curfew, while Memphis City Councilman Frank Colvett said there ought to be expanded facilities for guardians to pick up their children.

The candidates also advocated for more initiatives to keep youth busy at night, saying intervention programs and more activities are needed.

“It is up to us not only to provide the activities but also have the areas they should go if in fact they are out after dark,” Colvett said, advocating for financial investments in organizations like the Boys & Girls Clubs and Youth Villages.

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The debate Monday, which drew McKissack, Young, Gibson, Colvett and State Rep. Karen Camper, focused on crime and public safety with questions asked by Daily Memphian CEO Eric Barnes.

Three other candidates were also invited. Former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton did not respond to the invitation, Barnes said, while Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner had a fundraiser. Memphis NAACP President Van Turner initially planned to come, but later said he had a previously scheduled fundraiser, Barnes said.

The election is not until October 2023, but already around a dozen people have announced campaigns for mayor.

During the debate, candidates addressed the death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of Memphis police officers, the number of police officers needed in the city and whether the culture that led to Nichols’ death is endemic in the Memphis Police Department.

Some of the questions were about issues the Memphis mayor has no direct authority over, but that current Mayor Jim Strickland has often addressed. Those include topics such as bail practices, state legislation on firearms and whether juvenile offenders should be transferred to adult court.

Businessman J.W. Gibson speaks during a Memphis mayoral candidate debate at the Halloran Centre on Monday, April 24, 2023. The debate was presented by the Daily Memphian.

“The mayor may not be that individual who leads all the efforts, but he does have that convening power. He does have the power of the ink pen to motivate others to come to the table,” Gibson said when asked how the mayor can address troubled youth in the city through partnerships.

The candidates also agreed that there need to be investments into Memphians that will stop crime before it happens.

“Crime is the output of the lack of investments that we’ve made in this community, but it’s also the output of poverty,” Young said. “Poverty has been the significant issue that’s plagued our community for many, many years.”

Only one candidate said he would, if elected mayor, fire MPD Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis.

“What happened to Tyre Nichols was disgusting, it was horrific. We need a new chapter, a new page in Memphis, Tennessee, and I think there are some really great candidates out there,” said Colvett, adding that he would launch a national search for a police chief on day one of his mayoral administration.

Memphis City Councilman Frank Colvett speaks during a Memphis mayoral candidate debate at the Halloran Centre on Monday, April 24, 2023. The debate was presented by the Daily Memphian.

Gibson and Young said they aren’t ready to make a call on whether to retain Davis.

Both McKissack and Camper, however, said Davis should have to reapply for her job and prove why Memphis should keep her.

“There is something wrong with the system we have,” Camper said. “What I want to do and will do is convene everybody (who is) a part of the entire ecosystem. We have got to reform how we police in this city. We’ve got to invest in community policing.”

State Rep. Karen Camper speaks during a Memphis mayoral candidate debate at the Halloran Centre on Monday, April 24, 2023. The debate was presented by the Daily Memphian.

The candidates were also asked how, if elected mayor, they would handle a $550 million lawsuit from Nichols’ family against the city of Memphis, Davis and the five former officers who have been charged with second degree murder in Nichols’ death.

All the candidates agreed that there cannot be a financial amount placed on a person’s life, with Young, Colvett and Gibson saying they would seek to settle the lawsuit in a way that is within the city’s means.

Camper said she would have to evaluate the evidence before saying how she would deal with the lawsuit.

McKissack said that she met with Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, at a candlelight vigil and, if elected mayor, would defer to Wells’ attorneys on whether they were interested in a settlement.

“The money is the very least of her concerns,” McKissack said. “She’s sending a message, because sometimes you have to talk to folks through their pocketbooks, through their wallets, to say this cannot happen again.”

Katherine Burgess covers government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Candidates for Memphis mayor talk youth curfew, Tyre Nichols lawsuit in crime debate