Man sues Memphis police, alleges arrests after buying from city impound lot
A Memphis man has sued the Memphis Police Department , alleging it has arrested him multiple times for motor vehicle theft after he bought cars from the City of Memphis impound lot .
According to the lawsuit, Michael Lusk has bought and resold vehicles from the city's impound lot since 2010. But in 2023, after buying three cars from the impound lot, Lusk was indicted and charged with three counts of theft of a motor vehicle and violations of Tennessee's chop shop laws. Those charges would ultimately be dismissed in February 2026.
The lawsuit points to stated larger issues with the impound lot.
"The root of this problem lies in deficiencies in the city impound lot's operations and the Memphis Police Department's reporting, record-keeping and handling of stolen-vehicle designations," the lawsuit alleged. "Media reports and related litigation have documented multiple instances in which the city impound lot sold vehicles that remained listed as stolen in police records, including one notorious case involving a vehicle containing a deceased individual that was sold to Mr. Lusk. The department has falsely arrested innocent purchasers, including at least one individual whose reported stolen vehicle was recovered by police and then resold through the impound lot. Even the auction company contracted by the city has publicly cautioned buyers that vehicles purchased from the impound lot may continue to appear as stolen in law enforcement databases."
MPD said it could not comment since the allegations were part of pending litigation.
The lawsuit said Lusk started having an "increasingly adversarial" relationship with MPD after the 2023 indictment. Lusk's brother sued the department two months prior to the indictment, after MPD seized property during the investigation.
In April 2024, Lusk was arrested again on another vehicle theft warrant. He was given a $3 million bond that he could not post. He remained in jail for nearly a month while a private investigator gathered documents showing Lusk had bought the vehicle he had been arrested for allegedly stealing.
Those charges would ultimately be dropped in May 2024.
According to the lawsuit, Lusk was looking to sue over the arrests and vehicles being confiscated. It alleged MPD officers attempted to have Lusk arrested to prevent this, along with his "activism" for reform with the impound lot, by accusing him of another theft.
In March 2025, MPD received a tip from a "concerned citizen" after a theft at Walmart, valued at $24, occurred. The tip identified Lusk as the suspect and Walmart employees then identified Lusk in a photo lineup. The lawsuit said Lusk had never shopped at that Walmart before.
Those employees later said Lusk "did not resemble the actual suspect and that they had 'got the wrong guy.'" The lawsuit alleges the identification was "either knowingly false or the product of coercion." The lawsuit also claimed there was video footage from Walmart showing the suspect, which it said was not Lusk.
"(A sergeant) intentionally sought to have Mr. Lusk arrested in order to subdue Mr. Lusk, negatively affect Mr. Lusk's ability to sue the City of Memphis and other police officers, and force Mr. Lusk to plead guilty in order to get out of jail," the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit sues multiple parties, including the City of Memphis, Walmart, Walmart employees, and two Memphis police officers in their individual and official capacities. It asks for a total of $3 million toatal in damages, $1 million in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages, along with court costs.
Lucas Finton covers crime, policing, jails, the courts and criminal justice policy for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by phone or email: (901)208-3922 and Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com, and followed on X @LucasFinton.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Man sues police for arrests after buying cars from Memphis impound lot
