Memphis Police Murder
At 8:24 p.m. on Jan. 7 in Memphis, Tennessee: 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, a Black man, was pulled over for seemingly no reason and pinned onto the ground by police officers. Nichols managed to break free, but the officers caught up to him and began to beat him at 8:33 p.m. Within three minutes, Nichols had been punched, kicked, sprayed with chemicals and hit with a baton, then handcuffed and propped against a police car. Medical personnel arrived at 8:41 p.m., yet no aid was given until 16 minutes later. Roughly 54 minutes after the initial traffic stop, Nichols was taken away to a hospital six miles away from the initial site (New York Times). Three days later, Nichols died from blood loss.
After the incident, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice began a joint civil rights investigation. When it concluded, the Memphis Police Department (MPD) fired five officers involved with the situation who were identified as Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith – all Black men. This type of altercation where an officer behaves violently against a civilian is referred to as police brutality. In the U.S., it disproportionately affects Black people, who make up around 24% of deaths by police despite being only 13% of the population (Amnesty). However, sophomore Armon Riaz feels that police brutality is not just a racism issue.
“I say this as a human, not just a person of color; the [increase of] racist police brutality is a massive problem in the world, especially the U.S.,” Riaz said. “That being said, this situation is not due to racism. Police brutality is something that exists even without [racism]. This case is proof of that.”
Officers can commit acts of violence against anyone – even members of their own race. A history of systematic oppression within policing is what often enables occurrences like this (USA Today). In its origin during the 1700s, the police force was meant as slave patrollers who captured and returned runaway slaves. Once African Americans were emancipated in 1868, the patrollers shifted to enforce Jim Crow laws designed to segregate white and Black people (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). Due to the history of the police system and discrimination within it, circumstances similar to Nichols’ can occur, making the quick disciplinary action against the officers surprising to many. Once the officers were fired, they were indicted by a grand jury on charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression (Reuters). Junior Devin Lai has hope that the officers will face legal consequences for their actions.
“I think [the] charges are important because it is often the case that the police get away with what they do to these people,” Lai said. “It is important that they are held accountable and justice is [served]. Problems [like this] are large enough that it requires a lot of action to try to stop.”
Shortly after the charges were announced, protesters in downtown Memphis blocked the Interstate 55 bridge and called for the discontinuing of the SCORPION (Street Crimes Operations to Restore Peace In Our Neighborhoods) taskforce, which the five Black officers were a part of (Channel 3 News). It has since been disbanded due to the backlash, according to the MPD police chief, Cereylyn Davis (Associated Press News). After speaking with Nichols’ family, President Joe Biden reinvigorated his push to pass the George Floyd Act in Congress, which could implement national standards for training and deescalation, address officer wellness and change police culture to protect civilians and officers (AP News). English 2 teacher Tracy Bly feels that these types of reforms are important for citizen safety and welfare. “I think police officers need a longer training period because they are doing a really difficult job,” Bly said. “[They are] walking into situations where they do not know what is happening, but in instances like [Nichols’] where it is so blatantly disturbing, it just makes me sad.”
