U.S. Attorney Ed Yarbrough today honored the leadership of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gang Unit with an Award for Excellence in recognition of the Unit’s enormous impact on Nashville’s safety.
The citation recognizing Lt. Mitch Fuhrer, Sgt. Gary Kemper, and Sgt. Jonathan Rogers noted, in part:
“The Gang Unit played a vital and indispensable role in the investigation, arrest and prosecution of numerous members of a notorious violent nationwide gang known as “La Mara Salvatrucha” or MS-13. Its original members were refugees from the civil war in El Salvador in the 1980s; many were former soldiers and guerillas well-trained in weapons and warfare tactics. To achieve their objectives, this organization is widely known to engage in violent crimes, including multiple murders. Thanks largely to the efforts to the Gang Unit, this investigation and federal prosecution may have eradicated the presence of an MS-13 cell in the Middle Tennessee district.
Previously, the Gang Unit’s investigative efforts and support led to the investigation, arrest, prosecution, incarceration and, in some cases, the dismantling of other well-established gang cells such as Los Angeles-based Crips and Bloods, the Chicago-based Gangster Disciples, organized criminal Asian gangs, and the Chicago-based Vice Lords.
The Gang Unit has proven to be a vigilant and indispensable law enforcement asset in protecting our communities from the effects of these criminal organizations and their violent activities.”
Chief Ronal Serpas, who attended today’s award ceremony, said, “Our Gang Unit does very important work virtually every day of the week in neighborhoods throughout Nashville. They arrest very dangerous criminals, recover a number of crime guns, and develop significant intelligence information that is shared among other department components. I am very proud of the dedication and commitment of Lieutenant Fuhrer, Sergeants Kemper and Rogers, and every member of the Gang Unit.”
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