The Dispute Index

Andre Wharton

Portrait of Andre Wharton
The Wharton Law Firm

Andre C. Wharton is a Memphis, Tennessee attorney at the Wharton Law Firm, which he joined in 2004. His practice focuses on criminal defense, personal injury and wrongful death cases.

Also known as Andre C. Wharton, André WhartonWebsite (opens in a new tab)

What we have documented

We have documented 3 statements by Andre Wharton, in 2 cases. Each statement below gives the quotation, its original source and a link to the full case.

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Statements by Andre Wharton

Portrait of Andre Wharton

Andre Wharton

Role at the time: Attorney for Tyrin Johnson's family, speaking to WMC Action News 5

Challenged the characterization

Response to this claim

Tyrin Johnson turned on the two Tennessee National Guard members who were chasing him and pointed a handgun at them before they fired.

“What is absent is that he was running away, and that is critical to this investigation”
Open source (opens in a new tab)DA releases 4 videos of National Guard shooting that killed Tyrin Johnson in downtown Memphis · WMC Action News 5Full article
Why we used this label

The reference point is the July 5, 2026 fatal shooting of Tyrin Johnson by two Tennessee National Guard members and the official account that he pointed a gun at them. Wharton questions whether the Guard members faced an imminent threat and says Johnson was running away, a challenge to the account that he turned on them with a gun.

Read statementFull case: Tennessee Guard report says Tyrin Johnson pointed a gun before troops shot him; the autopsy found the bullet entered his back
Portrait of Andre Wharton

Andre Wharton

Role at the time: Attorney for Tyrin Johnson's family, speaking to the AP

Challenged the characterization

Response to this claim

Tyrin Johnson turned on the two Tennessee National Guard members who were chasing him and pointed a handgun at them before they fired.

“I just see some kind of blatant inconsistency there, in terms of what law enforcement reports”
Open source (opens in a new tab)Autopsy shows Tennessee National Guard fatally shot 20-year-old armed man in the back · Associated PressFull article, AP copy published by WCPO
Why we used this label

The reference point is the July 5, 2026 fatal shooting of Tyrin Johnson by two Tennessee National Guard members and the official account that he pointed a gun at them. Wharton disputes the official account by pointing to the autopsy finding that Johnson was shot in the back, a challenge to how authorities described the shooting.

Read statementFull case: Tennessee Guard report says Tyrin Johnson pointed a gun before troops shot him; the autopsy found the bullet entered his back
Portrait of Andre Wharton

Andre Wharton

Role at the time: Attorney for the family of Jonah Neal, in an interview with NPR

Condemned

Response to this claim

Family attorney Andre Wharton said body camera footage shown to the family by the Shelby County District Attorney's Office shows that Jonah Neal did not pose a threat that warranted deadly force when the HSI agent shot him.

“It was unjustified in our opinion … The response that we were able to observe was just totally inconsistent with good law enforcement”
Open source (opens in a new tab)Bodycam shows federal agent was 'unjustified' in Memphis shooting, attorney says · NPRParagraphs beginning 'Andre Wharton, who is representing Neal's family', 'At a press conference on Saturday' and 'The Shelby County District Attorney's Office did not respond'
Why we used this label

Relative to the agent's use of deadly force against Neal, Wharton says the shooting was "unjustified in our opinion" and the response "totally inconsistent with good law enforcement". He rejects the use of force directly, so the label is condemns rather than a challenge to a description.

Read statementFull case: Was the HSI agent justified in fatally shooting Jonah Neal during a Memphis mental-health call?

A participant is a subject of the case. A speaker has a statement documented in it. A commentator has an opinion or editorial documented in it.

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