Hours before police body camera footage of the moments leading up to Tyre Nichols’ death at the hands of five Memphis police officers, one reverend in Boston is calling for peace in his city.
Reverend Kevin Peterson, founder of Boston-based New Democracy Coalition, spoke before Boston 25 News and other television reporters and urged “the people of Boston to remain composed.” The video is expected to be released at 7 p.m. EST.
“Voice your discontent if you need to. Express your anger if you feel compelled but challenge your rage in seeking justice,” Peterson said. “We should embrace non-violence over the instinct of striking back with violence.”
Nichols was a 29-year-old Black man who died three days after he was beaten by Memphis officers at a traffic stop on Jan. 7. Five officers were charged Thursday with second-degree murder, Boston 25 reported. One of the officers, Desmond Mills Jr., graduated from Bloomfield High School in Connecticut, according to Fox 61.
Nichols’ family likened his death to the 1991 beating of Rodney King at the hands of California Highway Patrol in Los Angeles, the news station added. The acquittal of those officers in 1992 eventually led to the L.A. Riots.
Peterson said the incident was “yet another indicator of how far we must move toward achieving justice for poor and Black people in Boston.”
“Memphis is a thousand miles away but for every Black man and Black woman in Boston, Tyre Nichols represents the possibility of their fate at the hands of local police,” Peterson said to reporters. “Still we must have hope and seek justice and push forward reform.”
Memphis area schools canceled all after-class activities and postponed a school event scheduled for Saturday morning, Boston 25 reported. The University of Memphis also closed its campus.
Massachusetts State Police have denied time-off requests in case of any possible reactions across Massachusetts, CBS Boston reported.
“From a professional viewpoint, the actions of the defendants are an offense to every police officer who embraces their calling for what it should be - a mission to serve and protect with courage and compassion,” Massachusetts State Police Colonel Christopher Mason said in a press release. “Those who killed Mr. Nichols are the antithesis of those values.”
Mason also urged people to “act peacefully and with respect for the law and their fellow citizen.”
“In Boston, there is a history of responding to crimes like this, so I would not be surprised if there is turnout on the street in terms of what we may witness in this video,” Peterson told CBS Boston. “My greatest concern is that the turnout will be one that pushes for reform and justice, and that we will turn out in ways that are loving and empathetic.”
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