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South Floridians react to Tyre Nichols' violent arrest video

South Floridians react to Tyre Nichols' violent arrest video
South Floridians react to Tyre Nichols' violent arrest video 02:35

MIAMI - On Friday night, South Floridians reacted to the release of the video showing Memphis police officers' violent arrest of Tyre Nichols. He would later die from his injuries. 

A community activist told CBS4 he watched the beating in horror. 

"Inconceivable." In a word, lawyer and immediate past president of the 100 Black Men of South Florida, Stephen Johnson, described what he saw as "inconceivable." 

"The last word I heard him say on the videos I watched was mom, and I couldn't," said Johnson.

Johnson was horrified by the death of Tyre Nichols.

"A lack of value for the life of a young man who is black in America," Johnson added.

Over in Overtown, the Director of the Black Police Precinct Museum opted not to watch.

"I'm not in a space where I'm constantly reminded that I'm a target," said Terrance Cribbs-Lorrant.

He says seeing it would add trauma to his life. Instead, he showed us department history, a photo of the "first five," Miami Police's first black patrolmen. 

"Patroling, policing, and protecting the community," said Cribbs-Lorrant.

He says the five black ex-officers in Memphis who beat Nichols following a traffic stop did the opposite.

"If anyone knew better about how bad or important it is to preserve a safe life, it should have been those five black-skinned officers," Lorrant said.

Miami-Dade Police Department Chief Alfredo Ramirez tweeted in part: "The lack of self-restraint and the actions of the officers involved, in just seconds, splintered the vital trust we must have to serve our communities."

Lorrant welcomed the community inside the museum for Shabbat dinner, discussing racial justice.  And he planned to share this message.

"Policies and practices of how we engaged law enforcement and how they deal with civilians, we need to look at the practice," said Lorrant.

"Was that the level of policing we imagined when we imagined policing in America in the 21st century," asked Johnson. "Is this us at our best?"

Johnson hopes the video leads to a conversation on how to make policing less violent and ways to fix it.

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