Contemporary deaths at the hands of police—deaths like those of Tyre Nichols and George Floyd—are not much different from the way my grandfather was murdered in Birmingham, writes Cheryl Head.
Photo Illustration by Erin O'Flynn/The Daily Beast/Wikimedia Commons, Reuters, and Getty Images
This latest example of excessive use of force by police comes 32 years after another videotaped police beating of another Black male motorist. Another video by another bystander allowed us to watch as Floyd struggled for air and life under the knee of a Minneapolis policeman. That eight minutes and 46 seconds of video further galvanized public perception about the misuse of police power and proved fundamental to the prosecution’s case against the officers involved.
Robert and Anna Kate were my grandparents. There were no bystanders with phones or video cameras, no police investigation, and no protests over his death. Last year, 2022, marked the highest number of shooting fatalities by on-duty police officers in this country since tracking began in 2015. Nearly a quarter of those killed last year were Black citizens. Sadly, we’re off to a troubling start in 2023. Through the last week in January, reports from local police departments indicate there have been 79 police shooting fatalities.
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Memphis officers to appear in court in death of Tyre NicholsFive former Memphis police officers are making their first court appearance Friday on murder and other charges in the violent arrest and death of Tyre Nichols.
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Memphis officers to appear in court in death of Tyre NicholsFive former Memphis police officers are scheduled to make their first court appearance on murder and other charges in the violent arrest and death of Tyre Nichols. tyrenichols
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