By J. Holly McCall | Editor-in-Chief
Good morning, Lookout readers:
On Monday, Senior Reporter Anita Wadhwani reported on the eight use-of-force incidents by agents with the Memphis Safe Task Force in the last year. Four of those were fatal shootings, the first of which was that of Darrin Pigram, shot in May while working the breakfast shift at a Burger King.
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy, who announced he will not be prosecuting the agent who shot Pigram, on Wednesday released video footage from fixed video cameras inside the fast food restaurant.
As Wadhwani reports, the videos don’t present the total picture: there are blind spots preventing the viewer from seeing the entire confrontation. And agents don’t wear body cameras. But what can be seen contradicts at least some of the claims by feds about the encounter.
Deadly altercations with law enforcement are happening in the U.S. entirely too often. Our colleagues with the Wisconsin Examiner reported Wednesday on the fatal shooting of a man by Madison, Wisconsin police, just blocks from the Examiner’s office.
In other news:
Ad watch: U.S. Rep. John Rose, a candidate for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, has taken the gloves off with a new 1-minute spot titled, “Ethics.” The ad addresses a report by NewsChannel5 in Nashville about a U.S. Senate Ethics Committee investigation into U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, also vying for the GOP nomination.
How I spent my summer vacation. A group of Tennessee Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Cameron Sexton, Sen. Jessie Seal, Reps. Scott Cepicky, Jeremy Faison, Mark White and Kip Capley, spent time in Washington, DC with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicaid and Medicaid Services to discuss Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.
How’s that lettuce working out for you?
THE LOOKOUT’S TOP STORY
A still shot from Burger King surveillance video released by the Shelby County District attorney shows a DEA agent entering the kitchen of a Burger King moments before he fatally shot 41-year-old Darrin Pigram. Pigram’s death was the first in four fatal shootings by an agent assigned to the Memphis Safe Task Force.
by Anita Wadhwani
The Shelby County District Attorney’s office on Wednesday released three brief videos from inside a Burger King where a federal agent assigned to the Memphis Safe Task Force fatally shot Darrin Pigram on May 13. Shelby County DA Steve Mulroy cited “public interest and interest of transparency” in his decision to release the videos.
NEWS AND NOTES
US Senate Dems press Mullin to ensure all immigration agents have body cameras | Ariana Figueroa, States Newsroom
US House approves joint measure to curb Congress’ stock trading, require voter ID | Ashley Murray, States Newsroom
COMMENTARY
An empty field lies next to the Tennessee Truck Center at Ford’s BlueOval City campus in Stanton, Tenn. on June 5, 2025. (Photo: Cassandra Stephenson)
by Cassandra Stephenson
In 2021, Ford Motor Co. announced it would build a massive electric vehicle and battery manufacturing plant in West Tennessee, but since then, the battery operation has changed hands, and Ford has stepped back from production of electric trucks at the site — which hasn’t opened yet.
ICYMI
75K voters cast ballots in strong start for Tennessee early voting | Cassandra Stephenson
COMMENTARY
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