Indianapolis man killed by Memphis police had lengthy criminal history
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Torrence Jackson Jr.’s first arrest as an adult, at age 19, was for dealing marijuana in August 2014.
The years leading up to the Indianapolis man’s fatal encounter with police Thursday night in Memphis, Tennessee, have been punctuated by a series of increasingly violent behavior.
On Thursday, Memphis police were called on a report about Jackson trespassing at a library. A few minutes later, Jackson got into an argument with someone at a library. Jackson pulled a gun when police tried to talk to him and shot one of the officers. The other officer shot and killed Jackson.
I-Team found records that Jackson was arrested 39 times by police in Indianapolis He has a history of low-level crimes including disorderly conduct, receiving stolen property, and criminal trespassing. From 2015 to 2017, he had at least eight charges for criminal trespassing and at least one count of disorderly conduct.
His criminal history was punctuated with several driving offenses, including driving without a license, and resisting police during these confrontations.
Jackson’s criminal activity became more aggressive in 2018 and 2019 with a number of charges of theft and dealing drugs.
In May 2020, he was arrested on three counts of arson, a count of intimidation and a count of resisting law enforcement. He served less than a year in jail and quickly returned to his criminal ways, getting arrested within weeks on charges of arson and resisting law enforcement.
Jackson was last arrested in September in Indianapolis for theft and resisting arrest; he served less than two months in jail.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigations said Friday it had not reviewed Jackson’s criminal history.