MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A man who spent more than 20 years behind bars before he was exonerated of robbing a Memphis music club is suing the city and 10 police officers, alleging they made up 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 B.B. King’s Blues Club on Beale Street.
Whitehead, who is Black, was tried, convicted and sentenced in 2003 to 249 years in prison. But Whitehead’s conviction and sentence were thrown out in December 2023 and he was released from prison. A Memphis judge determined that no physical evidence connected Whitehead to the robbery and that police fabricated information about the crime, including false identifications of Whitehead by club employees who had been held hostage and robbed.
The fake evidence included an anonymous tip made by phone against Whitehead by a man detained for two different armed robberies, the lawsuit says. It claims the man who made the call was coerced by officers working the case.
The lawsuit names as defendants the city of Memphis and officers involved in the investigation. 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” for what he and his family have experienced. Whitehead, who currently lives in Nashville and works two jobs, said he missed valuable time with his children and is in the process of re-establishing relations with them.
The Memphis Police Department declined comment. The city of Memphis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On May 9, 2002, a robber entered B.B. King’s and unsuccessfully tried to access the club’s safe. The robber held five people hostage in the basement office, tying their hands and feet. One of the hostages was wounded when he was shot trying to take a gun from the robber, who took some of their money and jewelry before fleeing.
Despite dozens of leads, officers ignored evidence, such as the correct description of the robber, and eliminated leads on suspects without justification, the lawsuit claims. Officers agreed to coerce a man suspected in other robberies into “helping them fabricate an identification falsely implicating Mr. Whitehead” by paying him and giving him an officer’s cell phone to call in an anonymous tip.
“Defendants became desperate to pin the crime on someone in the face of mounting public and business community pressure,” the lawsuit said.
Whitehead’s lawyers argued, among other things, that the actual robber was short and slim, while Whitehead was 6 feet tall and muscular. The judge who tossed out the conviction said there was no proof presented at trial that Whitehead had ever been to Beale Street or B.B. King’s or that he was familiar with the building.
The lawsuit was filed days after the U.S. Department of Justice released results of a monthslong investigation into the Memphis Police Department that was initiated after the January 2023 beating death of Tyre 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 majority-Black city.
“Mr. Whitehead’s wrongful conviction is not an isolated occurrence,” the lawsuit said. “Rather, his odyssey through the criminal legal system was instigated by a Memphis Police Department that has and continues to devalue the lives of people of color.”