Former Memphis Police officer Patric Ferguson was sentenced to 38 years in prison on Dec. 1, 2025. Ferguson kidnapped and fatally shot a man while on duty in 2021, according to plea documents submitted to the court. (Photo: Karen Pulfer Focht for Tennessee Lookout)

A former Memphis Police Department officer was sentenced to 38 years in prison Monday for kidnapping and killing a man while on duty.

Patric J. Ferguson, 34, pleaded guilty in August to civil rights, firearms, kidnapping and obstruction charges connected with the fatal shooting of 30-year-old Robert Howard.

“This defendant committed a premeditated murder while using his position as a police officer, not to protect the Memphis community, but to perpetuate this horrendous crime and shield himself from suspicion and liability,”

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