Interstates in Memphis (Photosounds/Shutterstock.com)Expect to see a lot more Tennessee Highway Patrol cars if you happen to drive interstate highways through or around Memphis.
Troopers and other cops are flooding the area in an attempt to cut down on an outbreak of road rage shootings that have occurred there this year.
Operation Grizzly Bear will bring 30 extra troopers to the city. They will join Memphis Police and Shelby County Sheriff’s Deputies in what is being called an “all hands on deck approach” to curb shootings. So far in 2019, there have been 32 shooting events on the city’s interstate loop and Highway 385, according to Memphis police.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland and the troopers announced Operation Grizzly Bear in a press conference Wednesday, July 18. Operation Grizzly Bear will last six weeks, after which data will be reviewed to see whether it decreased shootings. THP will supplement local law enforcement using marked and unmarked patrol units from noon to 3 a.m. on the I-40/240 loop as well as Highway 385.
