Man sues city of Memphis and police officers for wrongful conviction in music club robbery
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A man who spent more than 20 years behind bars before being acquitted of robbing a Memphis music club is suing the city and 10 police officers, alleging they fabricated evidence that led to his wrongful conviction and a lengthy prison sentence.
The federal lawsuit filed Thursday by Artis Whitehead, 61, says Memphis Police Department officers fabricated evidence that led to charges of armed robbery and kidnapping in the 2002 robbery of BB King’s Blues Club on Beale Street.
Whitehead, who is black, was tried, convicted and sentenced to 249 years in prison in 2003. But Whitehead’s conviction and sentence were dismissed in December 2023 and he was released from prison. A Memphis judge determined that there was no physical evidence linking Whitehead to the robbery and that police had fabricated information about the crime, including false identifications of Whitehead by club employees who had been held hostage and robbed.
The false evidence included an anonymous telephone tip against Whitehead by a man held for two different armed robberies, the lawsuit said. It is alleged that the man who made the call was coerced by officers working the case.
The lawsuit names the city of Memphis and the officers involved in the investigation as defendants. It seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages for “loss of liberty, great mental anguish, humiliation, degradation, physical and emotional pain and suffering.”
During a news conference Monday, Whitehead said there is “no price tag” on what he and his family have been through. Whitehead, who currently lives in Nashville and works two jobs, said he has missed valuable time with his children and is in the process of repairing relations with them.
Memphis police declined comment. The city of Memphis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On May 9, 2002, a robber entered BB King’s and tried unsuccessfully to gain access to the club’s safe. The robber held five people hostage in the basement office and tied their hands and feet. One of the hostages was injured when he was shot while trying to take a gun from the robber, who took some of their money and jewelry before fleeing.
Despite dozens of clues, officers ignored evidence, such as the robber’s accurate description, and eliminated clues about suspects without justification, the lawsuit alleges. Officers agreed to force a man suspected of other robberies to “help them fabricate an ID falsely implicating Mr. Whitehead” by paying him and giving him an officer’s cell phone to use to make an anonymous tip could request.
“Defendants became desperate to pin the crime on someone, despite mounting public and business pressure,” the lawsuit said.
Whitehead’s lawyers argued, among other things, that the actual robber was small and slim, while Whitehead was 6 feet tall and muscular. The judge who overturned the conviction said there was no evidence at trial that Whitehead had ever been to Beale Street or BB King’s or that he was familiar with the building.
The lawsuit was filed days after the U.S. Department of Justice released the results of a months of research incorporated into the Memphis Police Department, which was created after the January 2023 killing Band Nichols by five police officers who were fired and charged in federal and state court.
The investigation found that Memphis officers regularly use excessive force and discriminate against black residents of the predominantly black city.
“Mr. Whitehead’s wrongful conviction is not an isolated event,” the lawsuit said. “Rather, his odyssey through the criminal justice system was initiated by a Memphis police department that has and continues to devalue the lives of people of color.”