Memphis police arrest 12 people in an operation targeting a gang

The Memphis Police Department made 12 arrests following an operation in South Memphis, just outside downtown Memphis, in an operation dubbed “All Off Boyd.”

Most of the people arrested were associated with the local All Off The Blade gang, sometimes called “AOB,” MPD Interim Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis said during a Tuesday morning news conference. Davis said the others arrested were “engaged in some level of criminal activity,” although they have not been confirmed to be gang members.

Operation All Off Boyd was a “more targeted version” of MPD’s Operation Code Zero that focused on the Tate Avenue and Boyd Street area.

“This location is a neighborhood where many community members have suffered for many years, been held hostage in their homes for fear of gun violence, and some have themselves become victims of various crimes,” Davis said. “Throughout the city of Memphis, we have seen an increase in gun violence by some of these gang-affiliated individuals, which has made Tate Ave. and Boyd Street became centers for the gathering, planning and conduct of criminal activity.”

Davis said many of the people arrested had warrants for their arrests or were suspected of “numerous crimes over several months.”

The arrests took place on June 7 and, according to Davis, were the result of cooperation between MPD’s Organized Crime Unit, Gang Unit, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Shelby County District Attorney’s Office, Tennessee Highway Patrol, enforcement agencies and other sworn law enforcement officials.