Monitoring Team Meets with Court Over Progress of MPD Sanctions
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Public Records & Notices View a complete day’s public records and notices at memphisdailynews.com. www.chandlerreports.com Friday, August 30, 2019 MemphisDailyNews.com Vol. 134 | No. 139 Rack–50¢/Delivery–39¢ Memphis-area hotels post strong 2019 so far, but slower growth expected WAYNE RISHER Courtesy of The Daily Memphian containing more than 24,000 new rooms in a construction boom Above average supply growth senior managing director of CBRE Memphis hotels are having a rooms, are trending above the that has yet to peak. and proliferation of Airbnb rooms Hotels’ America Research.Their strong year, despite a glut of new 2019 national forecast in growth Local hoteliers have made were cited as possible factors in forecast was for slowing growth, rooms, competition from Airbnb of rooms available, rooms sold, little headway in raising prices for keeping the brakes on room prices. but no recession, and low single- and fears of a cooling economy, occupancy and revenue per room. rooms, with average room rates Th e industry trends and forecast digit growth for the hotel industry industry experts said during the But the numbers aren’t as good down nearly 1% citywide and fl at segment of the Lodging Summit over the next 18 months. Southern Lodging Summit on for a 19-hotel, 3,297-room Down- Downtown year to date. Th at com- featured Robert Bowers Jr., senior Woodworth said CBRE is Wednesday, Aug. 28. town submarket, where demand pares to a tepid, 1.1% increase in vice president of STR (Smith Travel The area’s 258 hotels, hasn’t kept pace with addition of room prices nationally. Research), and Mark Woodworth, HOTELS CONTINUED ON P2 sanctions imposed by the court. The sanctions in- clude having the city provide training for officers Monitoring team meets with court and having the police department revise its policy on political intelligence. The monitoring team, led by former U.S. Attor- ney Ed Stanton, updated the court Tuesday on sev- over progress of MPD sanctions eral goals it was tasked with accomplishing over the past 90 days. Among those goals was a review of MPD’s policy, procedure and training materials. Stanton also told the court Memphis police came to him with a request for authorizations to carry out “discrete” police activity. Stanton grant- ed the request for authorizations, or “RFAs,” on three different dates: May 9, June 12 and July 12. In the document it doesn’t say why police re- quested the authorizations, but June 12th is the day Brandon Webber was shot and killed by a U.S. Marshals task force in Frayser. A protest followed the shooting with residents throwing rocks and debris at police. Police used pepper-spray to clear the crowd. Stanton said the police department could come to him and his team can to provide authorization for “real time” issues the department encounters. Information on the activities for which MPD sought permission was sealed by the court. Stanton said his team also worked on assisting MPD with drafting a social media policy. Rachel Levinson-Waldman, senior counsel to the Brennan Center for Justice, is the monitoring team’s social media expert. She told the court she reviewed several social media policies for police departments around the country as they look to help MPD come up with a policy. She said she found that 20 to 25 police de- partments had some policy on social media but also found the details in the policies were “fairly Activist Hunter Demster (center) reads the notes of Memphis Police Deputy Chief Don Crowe (left), at a public forum July 11 limited.” discussing MPD’s surveillance conduct at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church. (Mark Weber/Courtesy of The Daily Memphian) When asked if she reviewed the social media policy for federal agencies, Levinson-Waldman YOLANDA JONES making progress on goals laid out by a the city and the American Civil Lib- said she looked at the FBI’s policy but would have Courtesy of The Daily Memphian federal court, but activists said they are erties Union by spying on political to review it and other federal agency policies and An independent monitoring team still being harassed. protesters. report back to the court. overseeing reform efforts by the Mem- U.S. Judge Jon McCalla ruled last The monitoring team has met She added that one of her tasks is “crafting a phis Police Department said at a report year that the city’s police department quarterly with the court to provide hearing Tuesday the city and police are violated a 1978 consent decree between updates on progress in complying with MONITORING CONTINUED ON P3 INSIDE Columns ............................ 3 memphisdailynews.com chandlerreports.com Public Records ................ 4 ©2019 The Daily News Publishing Company A division of The Daily News Publishing Company Memphis, Tennessee The standard for premium real estate Established 1886 • 134th year information since 1968 Public Notices ............... 10 Call 901.523.1561 to subscribe Call 901.458.6419 for more information Page 2 MemphisDailyNews.com Friday, August 30, 2019 Martavious Banks, man shot by police, pleads guilty to evading arrest Banks, 26, pleaded guilty in Shelby MPD officer Jarmacus Jeames, who County Criminal Court on charges of shot Banks, resigned from his job earlier intentionally evading arrest in a motor this year. Three other officers – patrol- vehicle with risk of death or injury and men Michael Williams II, Christopher unlawful possession of a weapon. He was Nowell and Lt. Charles Mowery – were released from jail Wednesday as part of suspended for violating several depart- his guilty plea. Banks also was given pro- mental policies. bation for an unrelated assault conviction They all worked at the Airways pre- from 2017, authorities said. cinct. Williams and Nowell were each Other charges of reckless driving and suspended for 20 days without pay for fail- driving on a suspended license were dis- ing to notify dispatch of the chase and for missed, but his license will be suspended violating the camera and radio policies. for six months stemming from the police Mowery was suspended for five days for chase and shooting last year. not turning on his body camera when he The shooting occurred Sept. 17, 2018, arrived at the scene after the shooting. during a traffic stop in the 1200 block of In May, Shelby County District Attor- Gill Avenue. Police said Banks reached for ney General Amy Weirich announced she a gun in the car and then jumped out of was not seeking criminal charges against the car and ran from officers. the four officers. His family said he was shot in the back Right after Weirich’s announcement by police and spent weeks in the hospital. not to charge the officers, Banks was in- Memphis police officers block off Jefferson during one of the protests in September of last His shooting sparked week-long protests dicted. As part of his probation, Banks will year following the shooting by police of Martavious Banks during a traffic stop on Sept. 17, because some of the officers involved in be required to get his high school diploma, 2018. (Courtesy of The Daily Memphian) the incident turned off their body cam- find a job and undergo random drug and YOLANDA JONES police officer in 2018 during a traffic stop, eras and communicated with each other alcohol screens. He also has to attend Courtesy of The Daily Memphian pleaded guilty to several charges Wednes- on their car radios instead of the depart- anger management classes and have no Martavious Banks, shot by a Memphis day and will be on probation for two years. ment’s primary radio frequency. new arrests. HOTELS CONTINUED FROM P1 Downtown Memphis. We need to figure out how to start putting those into the numbers.” poised for “a big slowdown.”“The bottom In discussing the national economic out- of the cycle we think is the second quarter look, Woodworth cited evidence that Airbnb of next year,” Woodworth said. “We don’t and other manifestations of the sharing, see the economy going negative, but it is internet-based economy are a factor in keep- going to continue to slow down pretty dra- ing prices and inflation in check. “There’s a matically. “We’re not forecasting recession mounting pile of evidence that really the nor do we see any real issues on the supply adoption of the internet, the evolution of chain side in this particular cycle. Because the sharing economy that runs through the of that, if we look at demand, there’s reason internet, has really taken a lot of the steam to … feel good about the Memphis economy out of a seller’s ability to increase price, so and investments that have been made in this that’s one of the big factors that’s held infla- facility (the Memphis Convention Center), tion down,” Woodworth said. and the new rooms continue to be absorbed “We’re studying what Airbnb and the Downtown. We feel good about the demand sharing economy are doing to pricing. outlook even though the economy is slowing There’s not enough history yet to be comfort- down a little bit.” able as to what it really means,” Woodworth Bowers said room demand year to date said. Information compiled for CBRE by through July was up 6.2% in the Memphis AirDNA for 12 months ending June 30 said market and 4.6% in the Downtown sub- Memphis area hotels are having a strong year, despite a glut of new rooms, competition Airbnb supply in Memphis was up 31.4% and market, compared to about 2% nationally. from Airbnb and fears of a cooling economy.