Former Memphis officer lied about identity after crash, convinced citizens not to get medical treatment
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A former Memphis Police officer may lose his ability to work in Tennessee law enforcement more than a year after an on-duty crash, according to a Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST) decertification request.
The request caused former MPD officer Joshua Hawkins to be called before the POST committee on Thursday. In an informal hearing, that committee recommended that Hawkins be decertified which would strip him of his ability to work in Tennessee law enforcement. The same group will hold a formal vote during a hearing on Friday which could result in Hawkins’ decertification.
Hawkins’ troubles stem from a crash on November 4, 2023. His decertification request states that Hawkins was on duty in his patrol car when he crashed into a citizen’s vehicle. That woman driving that vehicle suffered minor injuries, and her car sustained minor damage, police said. But the POST document shows that Hawkins convinced that woman and her three passengers to not seek immediate medical treatment.
According to the document, Hawkins told the people that an ambulance’s response time would be long and that it would take at least 90 minutes for traffic investigators to arrive.
The POST document also said that Hawkins gave the people a fake name and ID number. However, one of the people in the car took a picture of Hawkins’ badge and patrol car, leading to the discovery of his true identity.
Hours later, the crash was reported, and Hawkins received a citation for failure to maintain proper control and failure to notify police of the crash.
If Hawkins is stripped of his ability to work in Tennessee law enforcement, he could potentially still work in law enforcement in other states. He did not appear Thursday at the informal hearing.
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