CLEVELAND,, Ohio -- Dr. Martin Luther King’s iconic dream was doused again by another nightmare of a young Black man, Tyre Nichols, being beaten to death by out of control police, but this time it was three times worse. All the officers now charged with second degree murder are Black, Tyre was beaten less than 100 yards from his Mother’s home and not far from where Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis.
Videotape showed that after a traffic stop by the Memphis police special unit ‘Scorpion’ in unmarked cars, Nichols, 29, was immediately yanked out of his car and tasered while officers all began shouting chaotic, barely coherent commands simultaneously, never even bothering to tell him why he had been pulled over.
The New York Times reports the police shouted commands 74 times. Rightly fearing for his safety after being tasered without cause, Nichols tried to run for his Mother’s home less than 100 yards away. When the 5 officers caught him they launched a sadistic, heinous, inhumane and barbaric beating on Nichols who could be heard calling out for his Mother before falling unconscious.
Police could be seen and heard on tape, kicking and punching Nichols in the head repeatedly, along with pepper spraying and hitting him repeatedly with a baton. At one point, when Nichols is handcuffed, semi-conscious and unable to stand himself, one officer can be seen holding him up on his left side, so another officer from the right can cold-cock, sucker punch Nichols in the head again, knocking him to the pavement.
Despite Nichols no longer being able to even move, Police delayed in calling EMT’s. Nichols would die from his injuries inflicted by police three days after being admitted to the hospital.
While Nichols was 6′3″ he weighed only around 150 pounds because he suffered from Crohns disease. All the officers outweighed Nichols and some were the same height or taller. Nichols was unarmed and didn’t even know why he was pulled over.
Police would later claim it was a traffic stop for ‘reckless driving’ but they have yet to show any evidence of that. From the start, Nichols could be seen and heard trying to de-escalate the situation while the police were doing the complete opposite. They sounded and acted like they were drugged.
The five officers who did the beating were swiftly fired and indicted for second-degree murder and other charges. Monday two additional Memphis Police officers were ‘relieved of duty’ (suspended) but have yet to be charged.
Only one of the two suspended officers has been named, Preston Hemphill. Officer Hemphill was the officer who first tasered Nichols and reportedly is also the officer who could be heard shouting “I hope they stomp his ass,” which they did along with stomping the legacy and grave of Martin Luther King.
Monday three members of the Memphis Fire Department were also fired. They were 2 Emergency Techs and a Lieutenant who drove the Emergency vehicle responding to Nichol’s injuries. An internal investigation found their poor response to the call violated MFD protocols and policies.
The Scorpion units were first suspended, then the following day, completely disbanded. The moniker stands for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace In Our Neighborhoods. The units were established as a well intentioned response to rising crime rates, especially murder and drugs. But the units were poorly named, staffed, trained and supervised, which led to the death of Tyre Nichols who had no reason to be stopped.
They’re referred to as ‘specialized units’ but in practice they operated like ‘stop and frisk’ fishing units by amateur anglers. The now former officers charged with Nichols murder had been hired from 2017 to 2020 and range in age from 24 to 32. Officer Hemphill has just been on the force since 2018. The last time the Memphis Police Dept. had a specialized unit, to be in it, officers had to have at least 7 years on the force.
Much of the credit for the swift firing and indictment of the officers should go to newly elected Shelby County Tennessee District Attorney Steve Mulroy.
Not moving as swiftly as D.A. Mulroy has been the derelict U.S. Senate which has still not passed the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act passed by the House.
When Tyre Nichols wasn’t working the second shift at FedEx with his step-father, he was a Starbucks regular, skateboarder and photographer with a good eye who worked to be a good father to his 4-year-old son. His Mother said, “Nobody’s perfect, nobody. But he was damn near.” And those who new him, all agreed.
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