Portland city leaders Friday denounced the events that led to the death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of police in Memphis, Tennessee, and called for people who wanted to protest, to do it peacefully.
The news conference, held over Zoom, included Mayor Ted Wheeler, Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell, the president of the Portland chapter of the NAACP, James Posey, Former state Sen. Margaret Carter and all members of City Council.
City leaders spoke at the same time Memphis police released body camera video showing five officers severely beating Nichols, who later died.
Police had pulled Nichols, 29, over Jan. 7, alleging he had been driving recklessly.
“Let me be clear. The behavior of those officers is unacceptable anywhere. Those officers failed to protect their community, and they failed to uphold their sworn oath to serve their community with integrity,” Wheeler said. “The actions of those officers in Memphis do not reflect the values or the training of our public safety partners here in Portland.”
The country braced for demonstrations, such as those following the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis in 2020. Many of the protests that occurred in Portland were violent and declared riots by Portland police.
“I support those who wish to exercise their right to be heard, and I understand their deep concerns,” Wheeler said Friday. “I also want to echo the request of Tyre’s family and urge the community to do so peacefully in a nonviolent manner.”
Lovell called the actions of the Memphis officer “shocking and unconscionable.”
“It angers all of us at the Portland Police Bureau to think that law enforcement officers would violate the oath we swear to protect and the values we personally hold dear,” he said. “We know this atrocious act will breed further distrust and anger towards law enforcement. We understand these feelings, but we’re asking our community to honor the wishes of Mr. Nichols’ family who have asked that people remain peaceful.”
Lovell said the Portland Police Bureau has worked hard over the last 10 years to institute reforms, invest in training and revamp policies at the bureau.
In a news release, Multnomah County Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell called the actions of those five police officers in Memphis “sickening inhumane and indefensible.”
"Accountability is central to public safety. Public trust in police agencies is vital to building and supporting safe and strong communities. The callous actions of these officers’ harm our community’s sense of safety and fracture trust in policing everywhere," she said. "I want you to know, their actions are not reflective of our values at the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, and they go against our training and code of ethics, and everything we believe in."
City officials in Vancouver, Washington also condemned the actions of the officers in Memphis.
“Like many in our community, I am angry and outraged by the death of Tyre Nichols,” said Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle in a news release. “On behalf of the City Council, I want to extend our condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Nichols and the communities affected by the repeated trauma of brutal and inhumane actions such as this. “
She added that the behavior of the Memphis police officers “would not be tolerated in Vancouver.”
The officers in Memphis were fired and now face charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.
The video footage released Friday by Memphis police was more than an hour long. It showed the officers savagely beating Nichols, who repeatedly screamed for his mother.