NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — For two weeks, Memphis has been bracing for an influx of National Guard troops after President Donald Trump announced his intention to deploy them to the city. On Friday, residents finally learned more about that plan, and it looks to be very different from the deployments in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Friday that the troops will be part of a surge of federal resources into the city to fight crime that includes 13 federal agencies and state troopers. The National Guard troops will be from Tennessee, and they will be deputized by the U.S. Marshals Service to support local law enforcement.
The Republican governor said the troops will not make arrests and will not be armed unless local law enforcement officials request it. Lee has previously said he doesn’t think there will be more than 150 Guard members deployed to Memphis, but he later said the number is still in the planning stages.
“The story of crime in Memphis is about to be a story of the past,” Lee said at a news conference in Memphis where he stood with city, state and federal officials including the Memphis mayor and police chief.
What Lee called the “Memphis Safe Task Force” will begin operations next week, he said. He could not give an exact timeline for when each agency would start to deploy resources to the city, saying it will occur in phases. He did say that agents from the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Agency will arrive next week. He said he will not declare a state of emergency.
“Memphis is a world class city. Before us, we have a generational opportunity to make Memphis a safe city,” Lee said.
A post on the city’s website says “Guardsmen and women will be easily identifiable in their standard uniforms that they wear every day. The guardsmen and women will not be wearing masks.”
It continues: “Armored tanks will not be a resource used in this mission.”
President Donald Trump announced on Fox News on Sept. 12 that he would next send the National Guard to Memphis. He signed an order setting up the task force of law enforcement agencies for the mission on Sept. 15.
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