Reel Urban News Unjustly Killed
By Dave Devereaux
The recent killing of Tyre Nichols on January 10, 2023, is an example that not only will white police officers use excessive force against black men, but now we have to worry that a black cop will do the exact same thing. There are no safe spaces for young black men in this country.
His horrific beating leaves you with a sense of absolute fear that what took place with this young man demonstrates what can happen to any black person in America by any police officer, black or white, that gets carried away with their form of justice. The horror that his family must be living with at the hands of five black police officers beating their loved one so gruesomely is unfathomable.
His mother has demonstrated the utmost dignity and poise in the face of great loss. She has even declared that she is praying for the officers and their loved ones. That takes a big person, especially when it would be justified to hate after such behavior is observed upon one’s child.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis acted swiftly and fairly after viewing body cam footage to fire all five officers. The five black former police officers are Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmett Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith.
She cited the incident as “heinous, reckless, and inhumane,” warning that its content would be difficult to watch. Many are asking why the officers were so quickly terminated and indicted this time.
The plain and simple is that the George Floyd murder ushered in the changes that allowed her to act swiftly in this case. Most disturbing to black people is the fact that five black police officers would do worse than their white counterparts in a similar situation toward another black man.
What led to them treating this young man in such a disrespectful manner? They cited that all this is the result of a traffic stop. As the investigation moves forward let it be known that the attorney for the police officers stated that they did not intend for Nichols to die. But based on the coroner’s report, Tyre was severely beaten. At what point does one not know they have gone too far?
Again I come back to the fact that all this was because of a traffic stop. It directly supports my thoughts that police develop a mob mentality when calls go out for support. Thus you have six or seven cop cars pull up to a relatively minor incident.
There appears to be an inability to pull themselves back from that police mentality and a failure to gauge the scene and move within procedural guidelines. It also indicates the same story about these five former officers. As statistics show, only one percent of police officers are ever indicted and prosecuted for their wrongdoings. Past police culture has established this norm.
No doubt this has left indelible scars on Tyre’s family and has also placed a stain on each of the police officers’ families. This will always link their names and legacies to a tragic event caused by them.
How does anyone live with that, let alone leave their families to have to pick up and move forward with what they know? While I have written before about the responsibilities and stresses of being a cop; what they see, what they experience daily and the impact that may have on their own lives, this one puts to question, why behave in this manner with any unarmed, harmless young person who posed no real threat to you?
I still believe that carrying a gun makes a person feel invincible and perhaps above the law. For too long, police officers’ behaviors and reports have gone unchallenged, until the era of cell phone footage and surveillance cameras disproved those stories. To repeat that we need to reevaluate policing in America is beginning to be as benign as stating we need to reevaluate gun control. And yet we know that discussion has landed at the feet of politicians always citing the Second Amendment.
While five police officers have been fired for this tragedy, there remains the question of who else should be charged. The video showed more than eight police officers surrounding Tyre that night. The video is so damning that it has cost two EMT fire department employees to be relieved of duty pending further investigation after they were observed on the surveillance camera as well as two sheriff deputies being relieved of duty pending further investigation for their participation. More than likely, they have all seen the last of their careers for their actions or inactions in this incident.
As stated above, the police officers’ behavior was almost gang-like. They appeared to repeatedly beat him after his submission and attempt to flee the melee, and then they left him laying on the ground without any medical attention for some time. He never had any weapon or appeared to resist. Only asking, “What did I do?” Tyre Nichols was recorded on body cameras calling for his mother.
The real shocking part of the surveillance video shows the police officers in what appears to be a heightened state of excitement and agitation immediately after. Unsubstantiated reports have come into Reel Urban News that allude to the idea that this could have been the result of a personal vendetta against Tyre by one of those police officers, however, this is yet to be confirmed.
Several sources in Memphis have stated that this was more than just police brutality at the root cause. The aftermath of the incident demonstrates their need to justify their actions and possibly provide reasons for their chaotic behavior toward the victim.
The casual discussion of what just took place is as appalling as street kids justifying why they fought someone in the neighborhood. And it has to be suspect when the police showed up at Tyre’s mother’s home, they told her he was being arrested for DUI and had been pepper-sprayed and tased, would be taken to the hospital, and later booked.
She was advised not to go to the hospital. It was at this juncture in this episode that it appears even other police officers were complicit in a coverup. Just plain disgusting and unprofessional behavior all around.
At the end of the day, another young black man has lost his life to local police for a senseless reason. The very people that are assigned to serve and protect have violated the public’s trust and killed again. There are no words that can be offered to ease the horrific pain that a family must once again endure that has been caused by rogue police officers.
The lessons of Rodney King, Michael Brown, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland and countless other young black people have fallen on deaf law enforcement ears. The disgraceful behavior of overzealous police officers during heightened moments is increasing. America might have to take to the streets again to show the police that brutality of any kind will not be tolerated. I only hope that this time we don’t tear up the very neighborhoods that sustain us daily but hold cops accountable by name and deed to begin to see change. My hope is waning, as is that of many people of color in this country. When will black lives be fully respected?
God bless Tyre Nichol’s family and may they begin to find closure as this incident is investigated. I pray that justice is served completely. No man or woman of any race deserves the treatment that he experienced at the hands of any police department and especially not by black officers.
It was reported that Tyre Nichols loved taking pictures of sunsets.
Devereaux is a national editor and opinion writer at ReelUrbanNews.com.
