TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jul 28, 2025

The City of Memphis is taking its legal battle against the Memphis police union to the Tennessee Supreme Court, asking the justices to pause court-mandated demotions of officers, The Commercial Appeal reports. The request follows rulings by an arbitrator, Shelby County Circuit Court and the Tennessee Court of Appeals that the city violated its memorandum of understanding with the union by establishing the rank of second lieutenant outside the bargaining agreement. The arbitrator directed to the city to demote all those given the rank and remove the rank from further usage. The city argues the demotions would cause "chaos" on the street and damage public safety initiatives. The Memphis Police Association claims continued use of the rank causes harm to officers excluded from union representation.