</s>Case Number: 80-BF-2142 Serial(s): 15b 2025 RELEASE UNDER E.O. 14176

The Department of Justice Task Force concluded that the FBI’s investigation into Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination was thorough and credible, finding no evidence of FBI involvement in his death. The report, released on February 18, 1977, reviewed over 200,000 FBI documents and interviewed 40 witnesses. It confirmed James Earl Ray as the convicted murderer, with no new evidence undermining this conclusion. The task force criticized the FBI’s pre-assassination surveillance of King as improper, noting COINTELPRO-type harassment efforts to discredit him and his movement. While recommending tighter oversight of domestic intelligence activities, it concluded criminal prosecution of agents involved in harassment was barred by statute of limitations.  

Fire Department Strength Reports for Shift "A" (April 3, 1968) and Shift "B" (April 4, 1968) detail staffing levels at Fire Station No. 2 and No. 3. Norvell E. Wallace, assigned to Company No. 33, operated with one over minimum strength (four men), while Floyd E. Newsum, detailed to Company No. 55, was at minimum strength (five men). Former Deputy Chief James O. Barnett noted that the security detail may have felt better without Wallace and Newsum due to tensions. Assistant Chief James R. Boatwright stated that Wallace and Newsum were detailed for their own protection as they were the only Black firemen at Fire Station No. 2, amid threatening calls received there. Patrolman Willie B. Richmond and Detective Edward E. Redditt, who surveilled Dr. King from Fire Station No. 2, denied requesting Wallace and Newsum’s detail. The investigation found no direct connection between their assignment and the assassination. Tactical units (nine in total) and ten regular police cars were deployed around the Lorraine Motel area at the time of the shooting. Tact Unit 10 was located at Fire Station No. 2, within one mile of the crime scene. Maps indicate some units and vehicles were within a one- or two-mile radius of the scene, while others were outside the mapped area.  

Key People  
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (victim)  
- James Earl Ray (convicted assassin)  
- Griffin B. Bell (Attorney General who commissioned the review)  
- William C. Sullivan (former FBI Assistant Director, testified about surveillance)  
- Michael E. Shaheen Jr. (head of Office of Professional Responsibility)  
- Norvell E. Wallace (assigned to Company No. 33)  
- Floyd E. Newsum (assigned to Company No. 55)  
- James O. Barnett (former Deputy Chief)  
- James R. Boatwright (Assistant Chief)  
- Willie B. Richmond (MPD Patrolman)  
- Edward E. Redditt (Detective)  

Key Locations  
- Memphis, Tennessee (site of assassination)  
- Washington, D.C. (Poor People’s Campaign planning location)  
- FBI Headquarters and Field Offices (sites of document reviews)  
- Fire Station No. 2 (S. Main and Butler)  
- Fire Station No. 3  
- Lorraine Motel (crime scene, 200 block of Milberry Street)  
- Thomas and North Parkway  
- Jackson and Watkins  
- Chelsea and Watkins  
- Main and Butler  
- Georgia and Orleans  
- Trigs and Latham  
- Bellevue and Effie  
- Union and Bellevue  
- Fourth and Goyoso  

Key Events  
- April 4, 1968: Assassination of Dr. King in Memphis  
- April 26, 1976: Attorney General Edward H. Levi directed review of FBI files  
- January 11, 1977: Task Force submitted final report to Department of Justice  
- Review of COINTELPRO activities (FBI’s counterintelligence program targeting civil rights leaders)  
- Fire Department personnel detail assignments for Wallace and Newsum on April 3–4, 1968  
- Deployment of nine tactical units and ten regular police cars around the Lorraine Motel area on April 4, 1968  
- Surveillance activities by Patrolman Richmond and Detective Redditt from Fire Station No. 2  
- Investigation into whether Wallace and Newsum’s detail was linked to Dr. King’s assassination  

Key Organizations  
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)  
- Department of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility  
- Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)  
- Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities  
- Memphis Fire Department (MFD)  
- Memphis Police Department (MPD)  
- Shelby County Sheriff's Department  
- State’s Attorney General (documents obtained for tactical unit deployment details)  

Note: This document contains [SSN REDACTED] in the original text.

MLK Declassified Files

80-bf-2142_sec_000_ser_156-part_1_of_5.pdf

Document Summary

Try AI Search