Tracey Shaw Sentenced to 7+ Years for Assaulting Officer with Firearm

Memphis, TN – A federal judge has sentenced a local man to over 7 years in federal prison for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and assaulting a police officer.

Tracey Shaw, 27, of Memphis, was sentenced to 92 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release by United States District Judge Mark S. Norris on May 2, 2024. The sentence is a direct result of Shaw’s actions on November 2, 2022, when he assaulted a police officer while trying to flee from a traffic stop.

According to court documents, Shaw was pulled over by police at a BP gas station in the Whitehaven community after officers detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from his vehicle. Shaw refused to roll down his window and instead accelerated out of the parking lot, striking one of the officers with his car.

Shaw then led police on a high-speed car chase, reaching speeds of over 100 miles per hour, before crashing his vehicle on Tchulahoma Road. He fled on foot and hid in the backyard of a nearby residence, where he was eventually arrested and found to be in possession of a Glock .40 caliber pistol with a 22-round extended magazine.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence in communities across the country. The PSN Gun Task Force, with assistance from the Memphis Police Department, investigated the case for federal prosecution.

United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz thanked Assistant United States Attorney Regina Thompson, who prosecuted the case, as well as law enforcement partners who investigated the crime. Ritz stated that this case is a prime example of the importance of the PSN program in keeping communities safe.

The federal government takes cases like this very seriously, and Shaw’s actions will have serious consequences. As a convicted felon, Shaw was prohibited from possessing a firearm, and his actions put the lives of police officers and innocent civilians at risk.