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canyonwalkerIn what has sadly become far too common of a story, police officers pulled over Black motorist Tyre Nichols for an alleged traffic violation, beat him heavily in a confrontation that turned violent, and Nichols subsequently died of his injuries.
Nichols, 29, was pulled over by Memphis, TN police on January 7 allegedly for reckless driving. I take care to say allegedly because in evidence that's come out since then, there's no evidence that Nichols was driving badly. That's also part of the sad pattern— police making questionable claims of wrongdoing as pretext to detain a Black or brown driver.
Nichols was beaten repeatedly by several officers in a confrontation that lasted for several minutes. He was prone and crying for mercy most of the time. He was taken to a hospital and died of his injuries 3 days later.
So far so sadly familiar. Then the story took an uncommon turn.
A week after Nichols's death, the Memphis police chief announced 5 officers who participated in the beating would be fired. Even that level of accountability is uncommon. So often officers are protected by their departments, put on paid administrative leave as internal investigations wind on for months, then returned to duty or hired by other jurisdictions.
But just getting fired wasn't all. Yesterday the Memphis district attorney announced the 5 former officers would be charged with 2nd degree murder.
Finally! Swift action by the authorities against bad cops! I thought. No more 'open season' on Black men!
Then I saw the picture of the 5 men charged with murder. They're all Black men, too.
That gave me pause for a moment. Does this mean this isn't part of the pattern of police violence? After a moment I decided no because the scourge of violence against Black men isn't limited to just some white people in positions of authority. The scourge is, more broadly, violent abuse of authority. The mentality, the training, and the groupthink that create that can infect police officers of all colors.
The photo of the 5 Black officers triggers another concern, though. Why are consequences so slow & unlikely to come when White officers are the alleged perpetrators, but swift & hard when they're 5 Black men?
Note, I am absolutely not saying these officers are innocent or even that they're being prosecuted inappropriately. There's a video being released this afternoon of their actions that's downright horrifying. The problem is how often such evidence is seemingly swept under the rug when the cops are White.
Nichols, 29, was pulled over by Memphis, TN police on January 7 allegedly for reckless driving. I take care to say allegedly because in evidence that's come out since then, there's no evidence that Nichols was driving badly. That's also part of the sad pattern— police making questionable claims of wrongdoing as pretext to detain a Black or brown driver.
Nichols was beaten repeatedly by several officers in a confrontation that lasted for several minutes. He was prone and crying for mercy most of the time. He was taken to a hospital and died of his injuries 3 days later.
So far so sadly familiar. Then the story took an uncommon turn.
A week after Nichols's death, the Memphis police chief announced 5 officers who participated in the beating would be fired. Even that level of accountability is uncommon. So often officers are protected by their departments, put on paid administrative leave as internal investigations wind on for months, then returned to duty or hired by other jurisdictions.
But just getting fired wasn't all. Yesterday the Memphis district attorney announced the 5 former officers would be charged with 2nd degree murder.
Finally! Swift action by the authorities against bad cops! I thought. No more 'open season' on Black men!
Then I saw the picture of the 5 men charged with murder. They're all Black men, too.
That gave me pause for a moment. Does this mean this isn't part of the pattern of police violence? After a moment I decided no because the scourge of violence against Black men isn't limited to just some white people in positions of authority. The scourge is, more broadly, violent abuse of authority. The mentality, the training, and the groupthink that create that can infect police officers of all colors.
The photo of the 5 Black officers triggers another concern, though. Why are consequences so slow & unlikely to come when White officers are the alleged perpetrators, but swift & hard when they're 5 Black men?
Note, I am absolutely not saying these officers are innocent or even that they're being prosecuted inappropriately. There's a video being released this afternoon of their actions that's downright horrifying. The problem is how often such evidence is seemingly swept under the rug when the cops are White.
