Yolanda Jones

USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

The U.S. Department of Justice said Friday morning it was ending its federal review of the Memphis Police Department, but by the afternoon the federal agency reversed its stance , saying the review is now back on track.

In a series of press releases that began mid-morning, the city and federal authorities made announcements and counter-announcements about the status of the review by the Justice Department's Community Oriented Policing Services initiative. By the end of the exchange, Ursula Madden, chief communications officer for Mayor Jim Strickland, said city officials were "shocked" by the DOJ's initial announcement, adding that the whole process was "frustrating."

"On their (DOJ) end, we don't know what happened," Madden said.

Madden's characterization of the situation came about the time the Department of Justice announced its reversal from earlier that it was withdrawing from the cooperative effort with the city.

“The Department of Justice’s COPS Office previously announced its intention to withdraw from the collaborative reform process in Memphis because it had not received a signed memorandum of agreement (MOA), which is a requirement of the collaborative reform process," DOJ officials said in its second statement. "The COPS Office is now in receipt of a signed MOA from the City of Memphis and the Memphis Police Department. The COPS Office is pleased to proceed with collaborative reform and applauds the City of Memphis and Memphis Police Department for their leadership."

Madden said city senior staff leaders were in a Friday morning meeting, when the DOJ announcement came at 10:17 a.m. that it was ending the program.

"All of our phones started blowing up," wondering why the city had not signed the MOA, Madden said. She said that Strickland had signed the MOA around 10 a.m. But while the city had not officially delivered the document to participate in the COPS program, Madden said city leaders had already communicated to federal officials earlier in the week that the city intended participate.

After the DOJ's announcement, the city quickly responded. "We are shocked by the statement released by the COPS program. We have been in constant contact with members of the DOJ and COPS program since October, and have worked in good faith on this collaborative process. We can only attribute this to a miscommunication, and we are ready to move forward with the COPS program," Madden said in an emailed statement.

Madden said that the city's Chief Legal Officer, Bruce McMullen, confirmed Wednesday with acting U.S. Attorney Larry Laurenzi that the city would sign a memorandum of agreement. "The two confirmed a promise that Jim Strickland would sign the memorandum of agreement today(Friday)," Madden wrote. "As promised, Mayor Strickland signed that MOA this morning."

In October, the DOJ announced that it would review the department's community policing and use of force as part of a federal review that was requested by Strickland and Police Director Michael Rallings.

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The assessment of the Memphis Police Department is expected to take two years and will be conducted by Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, which promotes strengthening police ties with communities.

The COPS office has conducted assessments of police departments across the country, including in San Francisco, Philadelphia, Las Vegas and North Charleston, South Carolina.

Following the assessments, the COPS office issues a public report detailing the findings. They also evaluate progress made in implementing recommendations over an 18-month period following the initial assessment.