A former police officer in Memphis, Tennessee has been accused of breaking federal civil rights laws for shooting and killing a man while on duty, according to prosecutors on Wednesday.
Patric J. Ferguson, 32, was accused of kidnapping and destroying evidence in a killing that happened in January 2021, according to the US attorney’s office. Another man, Joshua M. Rogers, who is not a police officer, was accused of working together with others to hide the shooting and get rid of evidence.
The prosecutors said that Ferguson was working when he took a man and shot him in the head while they were inside his police car. Ferguson helped Rogers get rid of the man’s body in the Wolf River in Memphis, according to prosecutors. Rogers sold the car used to move the man’s body to a scrap metal dealer, prosecutors said.
The person who was shot was identified as R.H. by the US attorney’s office. Ferguson has already been accused of serious crimes in state court for the death of Robert Howard. Both cases have the same situation.
Rogers has been accused in state court of hiding evidence, mistreating a dead body, and helping someone after they killed someone else.
Ferguson and Rogers were released from jail after paying bail for their state charges. It’s not known if they were arrested for their federal charges yet.
Ferguson’s lawyer, William Massey, said he was not surprised by the federal indictment, but he did not have anything else to say about it. Rogers’ lawyer did not call back when they were asked for a comment in the state case.
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Ex-Memphis police officer accused of kidnapping and killing a person
