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.
Case
An HSI agent shot Jonah Neal during a May 20 Memphis task force response to a mental-health call. His family's attorney says body camera footage shows no imminent threat; a state investigation continues, and we found no public federal explanation.
Role at the time: Attorney for the family of Jonah Neal, in an interview with NPR
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”
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.
Statement dates: August 23, 2026
Statement dates: August 23, 2026
Statement dates: August 23, 2026
