Memphis police incident under review after family says officers wrongly arrested 4 men

Four men were arrested Saturday afternoon after officers from the Memphis Police Department mistakenly identified a shop owner as a man with an active warrant, family members told The Commercial Appeal.

According to family, Jamil Ibrahim and his siblings were working at their warehouse on Winchester Road and Kirby Parkway when Ibrahim found bullets behind the building. Ibrahim called MPD, and when they arrived, an officer misspelled his name, bringing up a different man who they said had an active warrant.

"My brother called in to report that he found some bullets in the back of the building, right in the alleyway," said Moe Ibrahim, a brother of one of the men arrested. "He made a report, the lady came out and took his ID. She came back and said, 'Hey you have a warrant,' which was a case of mistaken identity. The names are totally different, but they're both Arab...She handcuffed my brother, they forced all their power onto him. They beat him up and sent him to the Med."

Jamil Ibrahim was charged with two counts of misdemeanor assault on a first responder, charges the family claims were fabricated by the responding officer. He was taken to Regional One Hospital, where family said he was given stitches on his forehead.

Three other men — Ibrahim Mahmoud, Moamen Saad Hijaz and Salim Ibrahim — were also arrested, and charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct. Family members said Hijaz and Salim Ibrahim were arrested for filming the arrest.

Sunday afternoon, MPD Public Information Officer Theresa Carlson told the Commercial Appeal that the "incident is under review by precinct commanders."

An affidavit for Jamil Ibrahim said a warrant popped up for an aggravated assault and domestic assault case in 2022. That warrant, however, appears to have already been served and the case has been making it through the court system since December 2022 — when Jamil Ibrahim was first arrested.

Ibrahim has made all court dates for that case, and also posted bail back in December.

After the responding officer, Officer Jefferson, said the warrant popped up, Officer Christopher Wilson — who wrote the affidavit — wrote that Jefferson called for additional units.

"...At which time [Jamil Ibrahim] became belligerent," the affidavit read. "[Jefferson] attempted to detain [Ibrahim] and place him in handcuffs due to his uncooperative behavior. As [Jefferson] attempted to cuff the suspect, he resisted her by pushing [Jefferson] and attempting to pull away from her. During the ensuing altercation, [Jefferson's] watch and fingernail were damaged."

When other officers arrived on scene, and went to help Jefferson detain Ibrahim, the affidavit said Ibrahim still tried to pull away. One of the additional officers, Officer Moore, said Ibrahim "lunged" at him, and he "responded by striking [Ibrahim] in the forehead with his right fist, stunning [Ibrahim]."

Video taken by bystanders at the warehouse, and shown to reporters from The Commercial Appeal, showed Ibrahim holding his arms behind his back when a female officer appears to try and handcuff him by wrapping her arms around him.

When another officer enters the warehouse, the two officers appear to grab Ibrahim's arms and push him into boxes. As the officers appear to try and handcuff Ibrahim further, a male officer appears to punch Ibrahim on the head and later appears to place his hands around Ibrahim's throat.

Another bystander, also appears in the video to try and break up the officers and Ibrahim, but is pushed away.

The family said they will not release the video until retaining legal counsel.

The three bystanders who were charged with disorderly conduct each have similar affidavits. Hijaz's affidavit was slightly different from the other two, and said he was told "multiple times by officers to remain in the designated area while officers conducted an investigation," but he "began to approach officers in an aggressive manner, yelling and screaming."

Mahmoud and Salim Ibrahim both had identical affidavits written, both saying the men were interfering with the investigation and "causing a disturbance."

Family members, who were joined by about 20 other people at a protest outside of 201 Poplar, said all the three men who were charged with disorderly conduct were filming.

Protesters outside of the Shelby County Jail at 201 Poplar called for the release of the four men, and attempted to shut down the intersection at Poplar Ave and Danny Thomas Blvd., then shut down the intersection at Poplar Ave and N. B.B. King Blvd. Officers then threatened to arrest the protesters, citing their lack of permit, and one officer could be overheard saying the van — which was parked in the intersection by protesters — would be towed.

Salim Ibrahim and Hijaz were both released on their own recognizance by midnight Sunday, according to the criminal justice portal. Mahmoud was also released on his recognizance and Jamil Ibrahim posted bail, both on May 28, according to the criminal justice portal.

Dima Amro and Gina Butkovich contributed to this report.

Lucas Finton is a criminal justice reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Family says Memphis police wrongly arrested 4 men, 'beat up' one of them