A Bad Year for Dirty Memphis Cops

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Reported by: Joy Lambert

Email: JLambert@abc24.com

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Published: 12/21/2011 6:47 pm

Updated: 12/21/2011 7:04 pm

MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - The arrest of a police officer for trying to buy and sell drugs in uniform from his patrol car is just the latest cop leaving a mess for the Memphis Police Department to clean up.

A spokesperson with the MPD says they don't keep a record of arrested officers, but ABC 24 News looked back through the year and found a big stack of reports for officers found on the wrong side of the law.

Michael Sinnock was caught selling drugs from his police car.
Tramaine Johnson was arrested for marijuana in Nashville.
Eric Johnson was arrested in a federal drug investigation.
Lorenzo Couch was charged with robbery.
Ozell Toles and Stanley Eason were both arrested for assault.
Ronnie Sims was charged with rape.
Ericck Cain was accused of raping his underage cousin.

All were Memphis police officers, all accused of being on the wrong side of the law. Month after month, the police department has had to answer for the bad cops.

"It is disheartening to me as Director of Police Services to find out one of our officers is involved in this investigation and has been indicted," MPD Director Toney Armstrong said in October 2011.

Perhaps the biggest black eye on the department this year was Norman Benjamin.

"You like to think with info given by a sworn officer, that would be factual… it happens that as this case unraveled you can see all the things we unturned," Armstrong stated at a September press conference. "Sgt. Benjamin provided officers with false information."

In the curious case of Norman Benjamin, the former MPD sergeant is accused of lying to cops, organizing a murder for hire plot, and still no one is saying who shot him Labor Day weekend.

Armstrong said, "Sgt. Benjamin's actions during this investigation are inexcusable and will not be tolerated by this administration."

In each of the cases, the police department moved fast to get these officers off the streets. A crackdown in bad cops seems to be bringing them all out of the woodwork.

Memphis resident William Taylor noted, "Everyday it's something; it's not a shock, but that's bad."

Citizens may be frustrated, but Memphis' top cop insists these cops are the exception and he's working hard to get them out.

"Nobody is above the law," Armstrong said.

Keep in mind, the Memphis Police Department has 2,400 officers.

The Shelby County Sheriff's Office has just more than 500 deputies; one was arrested this year.

Crime, MPD

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The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of abc24 News

OTRSOGOD - 12/23/2011 1:29 AM

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It's not just "Dirty Cops" this city has to deal with but an uncaring attitude by the entire administration. My daughter's only mode of transportation was stolen on Dec. 17, 2011. She is a single Mom of 2 precious toddlers who depended on this vehicle to work to support her family. When we called in to report the incident, we were told "sorry, there isnt much that can be done." While driving around searching for the vehicle ourselves, we locate it at what appeared to be a small time chop shop, on Dec 21. We called into 545-COPS to report our finding only to be told, "If you have a spare key, just retrieve the vehicle yourself." REALLY? You expect 2 women to go onto an unknown property where cretins are housing stolen vehicles, probably in possession of weapons and just take the vehicle? Seriously? Let me tell you we had to beg the dispatcher (who was quite rude) to send a car out to sit while we checked out the vehicle, which had been stripped and windows knocked out. I do thank the officers for staying with us until a wrecker was called. There were 3 other vehicles on this lot and nothing was done to contact the owners. This is why I no longer have any faith in the MPD. My daughter was victimized twice, first by the cretins who stole her vehicle and second by Memphis Finest who offered nothing in the way of locating or prosecuting the persons responsible. I will be moving from Memphis as soon as possible. What a Christmas this has turned out to be for my daughter and her babies.

pkt2313 - 12/22/2011 9:25 AM

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what a goofy title for a news story. every job has people who screw up, teachers, nurses, doctors, firemen and police officers. people are people and they make mistakes,. yes, they should know better. i know quite a few officers and they are all hard working guys and girls who do their jobs. i commend them. quarterbacking is an easy job. do theirs for one day. i am not offering excuses for those who broke the law. i just say most are good people, trying to do what they get paid for. i know people lie on police officers every day just to get them back for giving a ticket, etc... i wish them all well and Merry Christmas to them and their families. Thanks for what you guys do.

Golden Taint - 12/22/2011 8:56 AM

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I have to agree with Mr. bsmoke. I can accuse a cop of molesting Elmo if I want, but that doesn't mean that it needs to be reported as news. Police officers are people. They are generally far better people than your average Memphian, but everyone makes mistakes.

bsmoke67 - 12/22/2011 8:41 AM

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Bad Title... Half of these guys have had there charges dropped and records cleared. People lie on Cops just like they lie on ball players. Just in the last weeks a policeman was cleared of a lie, so get the story right.

bigjim - 12/22/2011 8:40 AM

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what do you think you would have when the city goverment of memphis is made up criminals.

ReligionStinks - 12/22/2011 7:02 AM

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Welcome to another day in the Central African Republic of Memphis: Decayed city; corrupt politicians; corrupt police; high crime; poor, illiterate, and superstitious populace.

wildcat3 - 12/22/2011 6:16 AM

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This is called bad hiring. Sometimes it seems to the public like the MPD just hires the next 50 people in line when they hire. The city took over the hiring from the academy and hiring standards got dropped. That combination made things way worse. Fortunately, the academy is now doing the hiring again. Do not drop the standards to be the police! Raise them! Make it a position of dignity and something that has to be sought after. Pay a good salary package and benefits and attract the best employee you can get. It is now evident more than ever, it matters who we have out there in the blue uniform! Be choosy on who is hired, get the best of the best. If a crime infested town cannot trust the police, everyone will leave.

Ernestd2 - 12/22/2011 12:09 AM

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It would appear that the MPD has had its fair share of criminals posing as policemen. I would posit that this is only the tip of the iceberg, as I am sure that there are policemen who are slick as a can oil and have managed to keep their criminal history out of the limelight! Balanced against what the truly good cops do for the community I would say it is clear that those who are caught are not the true representation of the force. I would attribute 'cops behaving as criminals' to something other than the force being corrupted or even corruptible. There will always be men and women who would use their authority to underwrite unacceptable behavior, policemen, doctors, lawyers, ministers, coaches, teachers, counselors and what have you! I'd say some if not most individuals are undetected sociopaths and they will prey on the community as long as they are given the opportunity. We must be vigilant in detecting who's fit for positions of authority and based on evidence, this is not novel nor isolated. Let us discover/develop new methods in hiring practices, especially where the public-good is in the offing. We can overcome the negative by being more forthright and transparent with authority-figures, especially where public safety is at issue.

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