#Federal agents heading to Memphis, St. Louis to help fight violent crime

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Border Patrol agents are seen in Portland, Oregon.
John Rudoff/Sipa USA

Federal agents will be sent into Memphis and St. Louis to help fight violent crime in the cities, the Justice Department announced Thursday.

Attorney General William Barr said the officers will help local police tamp down rising crime rates, particularly gun violence, as part of the federal government’s “Operation Legend” initiative.

“The most basic responsibility of government is to protect the safety of our citizens,” Barr said in a statement Thursday.

“Today, we have extended Operation Legend to Memphis and St. Louis, two cities experiencing increases in violent crime that no resident of those cities should have to accept as part of everyday life.”

The deployment of federal officers has stirred controversy amid unrest in Portland — where the troops were criticized by the mayor for their handling of protests against police violence.

But officials in recent weeks have worked to distinguish the units sent to Portland for crowd control from the agents of Operation Legend, who are assisting in solving crimes and decreasing gun violence.

Since the operation began on July 8, the officers have been deployed a handful of cities, including Kansas City, Mo., Chicago, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Cleveland, Detroit, and Milwaukee.

“These are ‘street’ agents and investigators who will be working to solve murders and take down violent gangs,” Barr said during a news briefing in late July.

“We will continue to confront mob violence,” Barr said at the time. “But, the operations we are discussing today are very different; they are classic crime-fighting.”

As the coronavirus continues to rage across the country, American cities have grappled with upticks in violent crimes.

Memphis has experienced a 49 percent increase in homicides and a 19 percent increase in aggravated assault shootings, when comparing data to this time last year, according to the Justice Department.

Meanwhile, St. Louis has recorded a nearly 34 percent increase in homicides and 13 percent uptick in non-fatal shootings when comparing 2020 to 2019 data, the department said.