TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Aug 27, 2025

The Tennessee Supreme Court has ordered the Memphis Police Department (MPD) to pause the demotion of second lieutenants. MPD created this new rank two years ago. According to the Commercial Appeal, the Memphis police union challenged the move, saying it violates its agreement with the city. As of this week, 125 second lieutenants are on the police force. An arbitrator previously ordered the city to demote the lieutenants and lower courts upheld that move. The city argues that demoting the officers would create "chaos" within the department.