Source: The Washington Post / Getty
Tyre Nichols died on Jan. 10 after encountering police officers during a traffic stop on Jan. 7, and details are continuing to surface surrounding the case. Five former Black Memphis police officers were arrested in connection with the death of Nichols and the city is under preparation for protests to erupt ahead of bodycam video footage being released to the public.
Tyre Nichols, 29, was stopped on Jan. 7, according to a report from local outlet ABC 24. Memphis police offered in their statement that they pulled Nichols over for reckless driving and claimed that a confrontation ensued and Nichols bolted away by foot. Memphis police said that another confrontation took place with Nicholas complaining about shortness of breath and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The family of Nichols says that the officers beat Nichols badly to the point he was no longer recognizable. The family acquired the services of civil rights attorney Ben Crump and shared in a Jan. 23 news conference that the family has viewed the bodycam footage that is soon set to be released.
The five officers, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith, were all fired from their jobs on Jan. 20 for violations of police policies regarding the use of excessive force, duty to intervene, and duty to render aid. They were later charged on Jan. 26 with one count of second-degree murder, aggravated assault — acting in concert, and aggravated kidnapping, two counts of official misconduct, and one count of official oppression.
The officers were part of an elite 50-member unit known as SCORPION, slated to handle only the most extreme cases, and reportedly drove around in unmarked vehicles. It isn’t known why these SCORPION officers were on this traffic stop detail. Four of the officers are already out on bond. In addition, two employees of the Memphis Fire Department were also terminated in connection to the case.
Memphis police chief Cerelyn Davis shared in a video statement that the actions of the officers were “heinous, reckless, and inhuman.”
That statement can be viewed below.
Nichols worked as a FedEx driver and was the father of a preschool child. According to posts from social media, Nichols was an avid skateboarder and had no record of a violent past. According to Nichols’ mother, he was just two minutes away from his home when he was stopped.
The reactions to the death of Tyre Nichols and the arrest of the officers have been cropping up in number as details emerge. We’ve got those reactions below.
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Photo: Getty
1.
It took 2 weeks for 5 Black Memphis police officers to be fired and charged in the murder of #TyreNichols.
If only white officers that consistently brutalize, abuse, and murder Black people were held accountable in like manner.
— Bishop Talbert Swan (@TalbertSwan) January 26, 2023
2.
This Memphis video of the lynching of Tyre Nichols must be awful. Basically everybody who has seen it is like "Please don't riot when you see this like you probably should." I've never seen a reaction like that.
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) January 26, 2023
3.
I'm just going to say, as a rule, unmarked police cars should not be allowed to conduct traffic stops. Period. #TyreNichols
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April
(@AprilD83) January 16, 2023
4.
Before the Memphis Police Dept. releases the video of 5 MPD officers murdering #TyreNichols during a routine traffic stop, and that heinous video inevitably goes viral, I want to amplify THIS video of Tyre LIVING his best life.
#JusticeForTyreNichols
: Austin Dean pic.twitter.com/LQ7jPiObIH
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Mai Perkins
TWNE
5.
since this will come up a lot in media coverage of Tyre Nichols in Memphis: while I get that it seems narratively significant that the officers are black. Statistically, it is unsurprising. In tracking police violence, we never found that race of the officer made much difference
— Wesley (@WesleyLowery) January 26, 2023
6.
I urge anyone who is not Black to avoid sharing the video of the Memphis police murdering Tyre Nichols with any Black people, unless they explicitly say they want to see it.
This is going to be another traumatizing moment with or without seeing the video.
— Frederick Joseph (@FredTJoseph) January 27, 2023
7.
As Memphis prepares to release footage of the vicious murder of #TyreNichols, a quick thread from my soul: We can stand in solidarity with and demand justice for the family without watching the video if we don't think we can
— DR. BROWN-DEAN (@KBDPHD) January 27, 2023
8.
Tomorrow, they will release the video of the murder of Tyre Nichols at the hands of police.
We say this all the time but stop sharing videos of Black death by the state. We don’t do this with white victims of violence. It’s traumatizing and desensitizing all of us.
— Ola Ojewumi (@Olas_Truth) January 27, 2023
9.
Every Black, brown, & white person who condemned the murder of Tamir Rice, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Aiyana Jones, & more by white cops, now loudly condemn the murder of Tyre Nichols by Black cops.
But suddenly "Blue Lives Matter" crew is silent.
pic.twitter.com/bsTPkqUhWQ
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) January 26, 2023
10.
For people saying “but the police who killed Tyre Nichols are Black, how is that racist?” crowd, anti-Blackness is cultural phenomenon shared across racial and ethnic backgrounds. John Singleton told y’all that 32 years ago pic.twitter.com/p4COXZEcBG
— 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐞 (@exavierpope) January 27, 2023
The post #TyreNichols: 5 Black Memphis Cops Arrested In Connection To The Death Of Tyre Nichols appeared first on The Latest Hip-Hop News, Music and Media | Hip-Hop Wired.