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Tupelo council approves MOU with ATF to place a task-force officer in city police department
Summary
The council approved a memorandum of understanding allowing a Tupelo Police Department officer to serve on an ATF task force, which the police chief said improves the department's ability to prosecute firearms-related crimes in federal court.
The Tupelo City Council approved a memorandum of understanding with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to allow a Tupelo Police Department officer to serve as an ATF task force officer.
A city police chief, speaking for the department, told the council the MOU would let the department assign Officer Cam Talent to a federal ATF task force. “It’s invaluable. It gives us a direct pipeline to prosecute felons in possession of firearms, any crime dealing with a firearm,” the chief said. “We get to take them straight to federal court.”
The chief said the department previously had two officers assigned to ATF task forces but those officers left the roles due to promotions. He noted the department currently has officers assigned to other federal task forces, including the U.S. Marshals Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration, and that the city does not currently have an officer on an FBI task force.
Council members voted without recorded opposition to approve the MOU. The transcript records a standard motion and second and a voice vote in favor.
The MOU was presented under the council’s action agenda as an interagency agreement to support joint investigations with the ATF; the transcript does not include the full MOU text or any funding implications.
