U.S. Marshals Service declines to comment on the Jonah Neal shooting
United States Marshals ServiceFederal law enforcement agency leading the Memphis Safe Task Force, in an emailed statement from its Office of Public Affairs
The U.S. Marshals Service declined in an emailed statement from its Office of Public Affairs to comment on whether the Homeland Security Investigations agent who fatally shot Jonah Neal was justified, citing a policy against commenting on cases still under investigation. The Marshals Service leads the Memphis Safe Task Force, whose members responded to the call.
“Per our policy, we do no make comments on cases that are still under investigation.”
Emailed statement
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Thank you for reaching out. Per our policy, we do no make comments on cases that are still under investigation. Brady McCarron Deputy Chief, Office of Public Affairs United States Marshals Service
Where this statement fits
Was the HSI agent justified in fatally shooting Jonah Neal during a Memphis mental-health call?
On May 20, 2026, members of the Memphis Safe Task Force responded to a report of a man armed with a gun and threatening to harm himself at a home in the 2100 block of Westchester Drive in Memphis. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) said preliminary information indicated the responders encountered Jonah Neal, 25, with multiple weapons inside the residence and that a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agent fired a weapon for reasons still under investigation. An autopsy report released on September 4 lists the cause of death as a gunshot wound of the neck and the manner of death as homicide. Family attorney Andre Wharton said body camera footage shown to the family by the Shelby County District Attorney's Office casts doubt that Neal posed an imminent threat, and told NPR that "It was unjustified in our opinion". TBI said it does not determine whether an officer's actions were justified. As of September 25, 2026, we could not locate a public TBI finding, a public release of the footage, or a public statement from the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, HSI or the U.S. Marshals Service explaining why the agent fired. The dispute is whether Neal posed an imminent threat when the agent fired.
Source and context
Emailed statement
Emailed statement from USMS Deputy Chief of Public Affairs Brady McCarron declining to comment on the Jonah Neal shooting
Thank you for reaching out. Per our policy, we do no make comments on cases that are still under investigation. Brady McCarron Deputy Chief, Office of Public Affairs United States Marshals Service
About this source
Emailed reply from Brady McCarron, Deputy Chief of the U.S. Marshals Service's Office of Public Affairs, to a Dispute Index question asking whether the Service had a public statement on the fatal shooting of Jonah Neal by a Homeland Security Investigations agent during a Memphis mental-health call, given the Marshals Service's role leading the Memphis Safe Task Force whose members responded to the call.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Dispute Index asked the U.S. Marshals Service whether it had a public statement on the shooting, noting the Service leads the Memphis Safe Task Force whose members responded to the call, and that the family's attorney calls the shooting unjustified while the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says the district attorney will judge the agent's actions.
After the quotation
Deputy Chief Brady McCarron of the Service's Office of Public Affairs said the policy against commenting applies to cases still under investigation.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Dispute Index asked whether the shooting was justified, given the Marshals Service's role leading the task force whose members responded to the call. The Service explicitly declined, citing a policy against commenting on cases under investigation, so we labeled it Explicitly Declines, matching the label already used for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's similar decline on this case.
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More from this case
Read the full caseACLU of Tennessee cites the Neal shooting as task force agents "opening fire on a young man seeking help"
ACLU of Tennessee
“The recklessness extends beyond mass detention to fatal force. … In another news story that broke in August, the family of Jonah Neal stated that body camera footage shows that HSI’s shooting of Neal was unjustified. Neal was shot on May 20 after his mother called 911 seeking help for his mental health crisis. Imagine the heartbreak of calling the police to help a loved one facing a breakdown and being left to plan a funeral instead. That pain is the Neal family’s reality. … Whether the Task Force is detaining hundreds of people at a nightclub, harassing Memphians with meritless traffic tickets, or opening fire on a young man seeking help, the pattern holds that legal protections for Memphians come last, if they come at all.”Read statement
Andre Wharton says the shooting of Neal was "unjustified in our opinion"
“It was unjustified in our opinion … The response that we were able to observe was just totally inconsistent with good law enforcement”Read statement
Jessica Neal says her son did not hurt anybody and the agent decided his life was not worth it
“My son did not hurt anybody. And, within 30 seconds, she decided his life was not worth it”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "U.S. Marshals Service declines to comment on the Jonah Neal shooting". First published: 2026-09-29. Last updated: 2026-09-29. https://disputeindex.com/events/3281-the-u-s-marshals-service-declined-in-an