Like cities across the country, Memphis organizers held a No Kings Rally on March 28th in downtown Memphis. Organizers had a permit for a rally at Robert Church Park, but not to march through the streets. Protestors took their grievances mobile, and by virtually all accounts, the march was peaceful until the end.
Video from the rally/march broadcast across media outlets and left and right social media accounts shows Memphis Police Department officers spraying protest marshals with a chemical agent. From the available videos, it appears the police aggression was unprovoked, but it is unclear what occurred prior to the altercation.
Immediately, officials and pundits on the left and the right took to social media. Supporters of the protestors claimed law enforcement used excessive force, and “back the blue” voices pushed a narrative that protestors were breaking the law by blocking the streets. The altercation and competing stories led Mayor Paul Young to place the officers on leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation.
The move by Mayor Young received mixed reactions across the community. As we await the outcome and the certain fallout regardless of the results, here are 3 takeaways from the aftermath.
1. Investigation is the only reasonable approach
Both pragmatically and politically, the only reasonable response from Mayor Young was an investigation. The public video lacks critical details about events prior to the violence. Police and their supporters claim protestors were in violation of the law and had been warned numerous times to clear the streets. Police also say that protestors evaded arrest, though most of the video seems to show protesters retreating from the chemical agent.
Protestors and their supporters say that the march was ending and breaking up when police escalated, rather than allowing the protesters to disperse. They also argue that even if they were in violation of the law for blocking the street, the police response was excessive and unwarranted.
Without conclusive video evidence, but because the City possesses the ability to review police body cam recordings and interview witnesses, investigating the circumstances is the most measured response.
Politically, Young has been under fire from his progressive base for his cooperation with the Memphis Safe Task Force and his support for Elon Musk’s xAI. Knee-jerk defense of police might have scored a few points inside city hall, but among 2027 city voters, it could have been his third strike.
2. Sen. Taylor’s interference is no surprise, but inappropriate
No surprise to anyone was Senator Brent Taylor’s full-throated endorsement of law enforcement actions. In a Facebook post the same day, Taylor name-called the protestors and claimed lives were endangered because a downtown street in front of an empty FedEx Forum on a Sunday afternoon may have been impeded. Taylor did not say if he attended the rally and witnessed any of these events.
What came next was a letter from Taylor to Mayor Young and Chief Davis in which Taylor requested that “no disciplinary action be taken against the Memphis Police Department officers…” Taylor did not qualify the request in any way, so presumably he is unconcerned if the officers were at fault.
He concluded the letter with this veiled threat,
“It makes my job more difficult to get better outcomes for Memphis when the legislature sees an unwillingness from Memphis leaders to enforce the rule of law…Let’s not send the wrong message now.”
In other words, the rule of law applies to everyone, except police officers who may have violated policy on the use of force or have broken the law themselves. And, if you don’t see it the same way, there will be legislative consequences.
3. Tyre Nichols’ murder is relevant to the debate
It should be obvious why what happened to Tyre Nichols just over three years ago is relevant to the incident last Sunday. Nichols was beaten to death by 5 Memphis police officers based on extensive video evidence. Nichols ran from the police after they pulled him over for reasons still unclear, and physically forced him out of his car and onto the ground. If you buy defense claims from the federal and state trials, police may have discovered mushrooms and stolen credit cards in his car, which they could not have known before stopping him. Even if all of that is true, we don’t sentence people to death in the United States for misdemeanor drug possession and stolen credit cards.
But the facts of the Tyre Nichols case are vastly different from pepper-spraying protestors at a No Kings Rally, right?
True, except for one thing: the culture of policing at MPD.
Following Tyre Nichols’ murder, the community was promised reform within the department. A Department of Justice investigation released in December of 2024 found that MPD uses excessive force, conducts unlawful stops, searches, and arrests, unlawfully discriminates against Black people, and discriminates against people with behavioral health disabilities. The City fought to avoid a consent decree, and by May of 2025, the Trump Department of Justice retracted the findings, leaving activists doubtful about meaningful reforms.
The findings of the No Kings investigation may shed some light on how much, if any, the culture and procedures of MPD have changed.