Family members identified a lifeless body as a retired Memphis homicide detective Mark LeSure on July 9. Officers responded to a call at 8 a.m., and the victim was pronounced dead at the scene, WREG reported.
LeSure served in the U.S. Army for 10 years as a military police officer and joined the Memphis Police Department in 1992. He retired in 2021 and went back to school to earn his master’s degree. He was also a respected mentor in the local community. When the city dedicated a street to former middle school football coach Shirley Yvonne McCray, LeSure told the local news he was inspired to create a better way for the youth.
“We are starting a non-profit for this neighborhood to try to get these kids engaged, get them away from gun violence, [and] pick up a book,” LeSure told WREG. “We fought with our pen and paper, we didn’t fight with fists and guns.”
Memphis activist Amber Sherman pointed out an interesting fact on Twitter after LeSure’s death.
“Retired Memphis police officer Mark LeSure, who was outspoken against MPD after the murder of Tyre Nichols in national media outlets, was allegedly found murdered in his front yard this morning,” Sherman tweeted.
The activist also revealed that the discovery of LeSure’s body came days after the city of Memphis filed a motion to dismiss the $550 million civil lawsuit in Nichols’ death.
An example of LeSure speaking out against the department came in a January interview with NBC News when he told the national news outlet that the police department didn’t have enough senior staff members to train the new officers. He told the New York Times spay cuts forced many of the department’s veterans into retirement.
“Rookies were getting put on specialized units where they had no business being,” he told NBC News.
