MEMPHIS, Tenn. (NewsNation) — A whole-of-government approach to cracking down on crime in Memphis has led to more than 2,100 arrests since the start of October, as multiple agencies are teaming up to make life safer for area residents.
NewsNation was given an exclusive look at how members of the Memphis Safe Task Force, and specifically the U.S. Marshals, are working in tandem to cut down on violent crime.
Memphis is the nation’s top-ranked city in both violent crime and overall crime, according to FBI statistics. However, since federal agents and members of the National Guard were deployed to the Tennessee city at the start of October, officials say that homicides and other serious offenses have dropped significantly.
“Memphis has the opportunity to come out of this with a narrative that is stronger,” Mayor Paul Young said recently in response to the federal operation.
Since the start of the operation, 2,146 people have been arrested, including 138 suspected gang members. In addition, 372 weapons have been seized, and 95 missing children have been located, officials tell NewsNation.
After President Donald Trump announced he would deploy the National Guard to clean up “deeply troubled” Memphis, other federal agencies — including U.S. Marshals, the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, ATF and DEA — along with members of the Tennessee Department of Corrections and local sheriff’s deputies — have been added.
During Thursday’s enforcement operation, U.S. Marshals targeted a 31-year-old man with a warrant for aggravated burglary and assault. Agents surrounded the man’s home and used a flashbang before special operations officers were called in to breach the door, believing the man was inside.
Officials with the agency told NewsNation that its operations involve using all investigative tools and methods to find a suspect before they enter a residence. Those tools include the use of drones, which are used to investigate a scene before actual agents are sent in. In the case of the 31-year-old suspect, the man’s mother convinced her son to return home and turn himself in.
The man told NewsNation that he ran because he didn’t know what tactics U.S. Marshals would use to take him into custody.
“I didn’t know if they would be in my face, I didn’t know if they were going to shoot,” the man told NewsNation on Thursday.
Ultimately, though, he knew it was best to turn himself in.
“I knew I had to get it over with,” he said, adding that he understands he needs to get his life back on track.
In another case, a 21-year-old who had a warrant for assault and vandalism was targeted by U.S. Marshals who surrounded his home. Karolina Duda, a deputy U.S. Marshal, told NewsNation that the man was not combative when encountered by agents inside his home.
The U.S. Marshals Service also took a 19-year-old man wanted for second-degree murder into custody on Thursday as part of the operation designed to take dangerous criminals off of Memphis streets.
The operation has also involved the apprehension of immigrants who entered the United States illegally. One arrest was made after a 30-mile chase as agents were seeking a migrant who authorities said had warrants for aggravated and domestic assault. But after the chase, more charges were added, including assault of a federal law enforcement officer, and the suspect was apprehended by a K-9.
The man is one of the 138 suspected gang members who have been arrested. Officials also say they are searching for suspected members of transnational criminal organizations such as Tren de Aragua.