Two Memphis City Councilmen don't want Memphis police giving former President Trump security

Two Memphis City Councilmen don't want the Memphis Police Department to provide security for former President Donald Trump during his planned June 18 event in Southaven.

JB Smiley, Jr. and Martavius Jones, two Democratic members of the nonpartisan City Council, issued a news release Wednesday that said the two plan on introducing a resolution urging MPD not to provide security for Trump.

"As we know, the Memphis Police Department is already experiencing a shortage of officers to patrol our communities. I do not believe that it is a prudent use of police manpower and Memphians’ taxpayer dollars to escort the former president to an event in Mississippi,” Smiley said in a statement.

Previously: Investigation ongoing after pedestrian struck by MPD officer on I-240

From last month: Memphis PD responds en masse after officer-involved incident at Midtown Walgreens

Smiley is also vying to be the Democratic nominee for Tennessee governor.

The resolution, if it passes, would likely be non-binding on the Memphis Police Department and it's unclear if it would be apropos anyway.

Maj. Karen Rudolph, MPD spokeswoman, said "At this point, we have not been contacted to assist."

Former presidents receive Secret Service protection after they leave office. City police departments are routinely hired to do security for private events featuring prominent people.

Trump has an event planned for the Landers Center on June 18, which is billed as another stop on what is known as the "American Freedom Tour." Presumably, the former president would land at Memphis International Airport.

Larry Ward, a spokesman for the American Freedom Tour, said Trump is looking forward to speaking in Mississippi later in the month and implied the push to withhold police protection is political.

Weathersbee: Gangs can lure Memphis youths to violence. But poverty and no love lures them to gang

From last week: Should Memphis mayoral and City Council term limits be extended? Voters get to decide

“Would the Memphis City Council withhold security for Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, or Joe Biden? Of course, they would not, as it would be preposterous to do so," Ward told The Commercial Appeal.

For weeks, billboards have dotted Memphis highways saying that Memphis welcomes the former president. In 2020, Trump won only 34% of the Shelby County vote. Many of those votes came from the county's Republican-leaning suburbs.

In Memphis proper, including precincts represented by Smiley and Jones, Trump lost to President Joe Biden by a much more lopsided margin. He won DeSoto County, Mississippi, where the Landers Center is located, with 61% of the vote.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Trump in Southaven: Memphis City Councilman don't want MPD security