Maryland leaders express outrage over fatal beating of man by police in Memphis

Almost eight years after the police in-custody death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, leaders in Maryland expressed outrage over the fatal beating of a Black man by police during a traffic stop in Tennessee.

“Enough is enough and I’m tired of it,” said Ryan Coleman, president of the Randallstown branch of the NAACP.

Coleman watched the videos released Friday night by the city of Memphis, showing Tyre Nichols’ interaction with police there. Nichols died three days after the confrontation with five police officers who have since been fired and charged criminally.

“I don’t understand them beating that man like that for the duration of time,” Coleman said. “It was just very disturbing, and you really get tired of Black people getting treated as non-humans.”

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore released a statement after the videos were released, saying: “It’s difficult not to fight back tears watching this video. The inhumanity that was shown to Tyre Nichols, a young skateboarder and amateur photographer, is intolerable by anybody, but especially by people whose job and responsibility it was to protect him. I’m thankful that the Department of Justice is engaged in this investigation, and these five individuals must be held to account for their barbarism. I know I speak for all Marylanders as we grieve with Tyre’s family, friends and community.”

The Memphis incident comes almost eight years after Gray’s death, which sparked protests, riots and outrage in Baltimore and across the country.


Read more:

– Five former officers charged in Tyre Nichols’ death

– What we know and don’t know about the death of Tyre Nichols

– Timeline of Tyre Nichols arrest and death


“Whether it’s white police or African American police, it seems that some — not all, because there are good police out there — there seems to be a culture of seeing Black people as not human beings,” Coleman said.

Coleman said the big question that remains is how to stop this kind of thing from happening. He said his branch of the NAACP has been working to interface with local police to prevent similar situations.

RELATED: Examining police reform amid rising tensions over fatal encounters with public


“We have to do a better job with training. We have to do a better job with de-escalation,” Coleman said. “I have tried, as the president, to put out that olive branch to understand them better, for them to understand us better, and for us to get this right.”

Coleman said he hopes something changes to prevent scenes like this again.

“I hope we can get around this situation, and we need police officers to understand that we need police officers, but we must be treated fairly,” Coleman said.

The Baltimore Police Department said it is aware of potential protests, and it is ready to respond to make sure they are peaceful.

BPD Commissioner Michael Harrison responds: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore responds:

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore responds:

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown responds:

Baltimore City leaders respond:

Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski responds:

Maryland State Fraternal Order of Police President Clyde Boatwright responds:

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