President of the Steubenville chapter of the NAACP Michael Jett says he was horrified when the incident involving 29 year old Tyre Nichols IN Memphis came to light.
"It was a lynching of a black man by black police officers,” said Jett.
Jett reacting to the violent beating of Tyre Nichols at the hands of Memphis police officers. The violence eventually led to Nichols' death.
"I haven't seen the video. I read the story. I'm really not prepared to watch the video, it's a tragic incident,” said Jett.
Five police officers have been indicted for their role in the January 7th beating caught on video. Multiple other first responders have been fired.
"To imagine someone only three doors down from their mothers house crying out for help who hasn't even committed a crime being beaten to death if that doesn't wake you up or shake you up, I don't know what will,” said Jett.
The incident has re ignited debate over whether there should be federal law enforcement standards in place. Jett said he would like to see federal intervention when evaluating the mental health of police officers.
"There needs to be some serious dialogue and work with police training for both black and white officers apparently,” said Jett.
Jett says it will take some tough conversations in the months ahead -- working towards the future hoping this never happens again.
"It's going to be uncomfortable, it's not going to be fun but it's got to happen. We can't just ignore it and we can't just cure it by saying let's just get along,” said Jett.