Officer kidnaps man and fatally shoots him, then dumps his body in river, feds say

An on-duty Memphis police officer kidnapped a man, shot him in the head and unsuccessfully tried getting rid of his body more than three years ago, federal prosecutors said.

Patric J. Ferguson killed the man, identified as R.H., on Jan. 5, 2021, and dumped his body in the Wolf River in Memphis with the help of another man, Joshua M. Rogers, according prosecutors.

Now Ferguson, who no longer works for the department, is facing federal civil rights, kidnapping and weapons offenses after a jury returned an eight-count indictment on May 8, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee announced in a news release.

The man he’s accused of killing was Robert Howard, who died at age 30, according to the Memphis Police Department. Ferguson and Howard knew each other, police said.

Rogers, who prosecutors said tried helping Ferguson hide evidence of the crime, is charged with accessory after the fact.

Following Howard’s death, Rogers sold the car used to move his body to a scrap metal dealership, according to prosecutors.

An attorney representing Ferguson didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News on May 9. Information regarding Rogers’ legal representation in the federal case wasn’t available.

Officer is arrested before the body is found

On Jan. 6, 2021, Howard’s girlfriend reported him missing, according to a Memphis Police Department news release issued Jan. 10, 2021. She told officers that Howard was last seen on Mark Twain Street around 5 p.m. on Jan. 5, 2021, the department said.

Howard was already dead when she made the report.

According to police, Howard was “taken” from a home on Mark Twain Street and killed by Ferguson, who was in uniform.

Ferguson was “acting on his own accord” when he forced Howard into his squad car, drove to another street about a half-mile away and fatally shot him, police said.

Before Howard’s body was found, Ferguson was arrested on charges of first-degree murder; first-degree murder in perpetration of aggravated kidnapping; especially aggravated kidnapping; abuse of a corpse; and fabricating and tampering with evidence, according to police.

He was “immediately relieved of duty” and had worked for the department since October 2018, police said.

Rogers, who police said was Ferguson’s acquaintance, was arrested on charges of accessory after the fact, abuse of a corpse, and fabricating and tampering with evidence, according to the department.

On Jan. 10, 2021, police announced Howard’s body was found near the Wolf River bridge. The 105-mile-long river flows through Tennessee and northern Mississippi.

In December 2021, Martha Garth, the administrator of Howard’s estate, filed a federal lawsuit against Ferguson.

The lawsuit says Ferguson shot Howard while he was restrained inside Ferguson’s police squad car.

Howard had three minor children, according to the suit, which is still pending in court and seeks a judgment against Ferguson, as well as compensatory and punitive damages totaling no more than $60,000.

Attorneys separately representing Ferguson and Rogers in the state cases, which are still active, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment from McClatchy News on May 9.

Prosecutors and police haven’t listed a motive for the killing.

The federal charges against Ferguson and Howard are the result of an investigation involving the FBI’s Memphis field office and the city’s police department.

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