The Latest: Stop-and-start Memphis police review is on again

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Latest on the Justice Department’s decision to halt a review of the Memphis Police Department (all times local):

2:30 p.m.

After announcing Friday morning it would halt a review and reform process of the Memphis Police Department, the U.S. Justice Department now says the process will continue after all.

The agency’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, first said it was stopping its comprehensive review of the department after the city of Memphis failed to meet deadlines for submitting paperwork. The office said it would not proceed with the collaborative reform process because the parties could not agree on a memorandum of agreement “within a reasonable time period.”

Later, federal officials and the city released statements saying the agreement was back in place. The city said Mayor Jim Strickland signed the memorandum Friday morning.

The city invited federal authorities to review the department’s policies involving community-oriented policing and the use of deadly force.

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The U.S. Justice Department says it’s halting a review and reform process of the Memphis Police Department.

In October, Justice Department officials launched the comprehensive review of Memphis police after citizens criticized the department’s use of deadly force and its treatment of the black community.

In a news release Friday, the Justice Department said its Office of Community Oriented Policing Services won’t proceed with the collaborative reform process, and has made other technical assistance and training resources available to Memphis police.

The review began after an announcement in September that federal officials found insufficient evidence to file civil rights charges in the July 2015 shooting of a black man by a white officer. The shooting following a traffic stop that escalated.

Similar assessments have been conducted at other police departments.