Chattanooga to host Town Hall Meeting discussing police reform

National Panhellenic Council of Chattanooga to present meeting, Police Chief Celeste Murphy to serve as guest speaker

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) — In light of Tyre Nichols’ shocking death, one of Chattanooga’s leading public officials is ready to sit down and talk about what transpired with the community.

The Chattanooga Police Department posted on social media Tuesday that Police Chief Celeste Murphy will be the guest speaker for a public Town Hall Meeting on Monday, February 6.

Members of the National Panhellenic Council of Chattanooga will also join in on the discussion.

The Town Hall event is set to feature an hour-long “discussion about police reform.”

Following Nichols’ death and just hours before the footage of his beating from Memphis police was released to the public, Murphy posted online Friday saying, quote, “Brutality is simply unacceptable and must be eradicated from the culture of policing everywhere. I want to assure the residents of Chattanooga that the Chattanooga Police Department is committed to protecting and serving this community with integrity.”

The police chief also stated Friday that these words were not made solely as a public official, but also as a mother of four boys, further calling his death a “devastating loss.”

Nationally, government and faith leaders have also called for police reform following Nichols’ death.

“We believe in protecting our communities, giving them the resources to succeed as well as the accountability,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar, Democratic Caucus Chair.

“I think this is going to be one of the defining moments of the contemporary civil rights movement, that his death will not be in vain,” said Rev. J. Lawrence Taylor, Senior Pastor of the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church.”

“We are all Tyre now, and we’re all gonna stand up with this family,” said Rev. Al Sharpton, founder of the National Action Network.

When reflecting on Chattanooga’s police, Murphy said that “now more than ever, we have to work together to bridge the great divide in our communities and with the police.”

The Town Hall meeting will be hosted at the Greater Community Church of Chattanooga from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

In Memphis, Nichols’ funeral is set to be held Wednesday.