How the officers' race will influence protesters – and any future jury in the courtroom – remains to be seen. But experts, activists and attorneys told USA TODAY that the race of the officers involved is far less important than the race of the victim.
Nichols' death exploded into national headlines even before Friday night, when Memphis police released the graphic video footage from Jan. 7. It shows officers attempting to arrest Nichols at a red light, and again after a pursuit to a nearby neighborhood. In all, officers hit Nichols with pepper spray, a Taser, a baton as well as punches and kicks. Nichols cries out for his mother as officers strike him. They then prop him up as he repeatedly slumps to the ground.
"Absolutely it is the race of the suspect that matters most," he said."It's the historically biased culture of policing that killed [Nichols]." "It takes off the table that issues and problems in law enforcement [are] about race," she told CNN."It is not. It is about human dignity and integrity, accountability, and the duty to protect our community. And as this video will show you, it doesn’t matter who is wearing the uniform, that we all have that same responsibility. So it takes race off the table. But it does indicate to me that bias might be a factor also in the manner in which we engage the community.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Tyre Nichols death: Memphis Police Department releases video of Nichols’ arrestFive officers fired last week from the Memphis Police Department face murder and other charges in the death earlier this month of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, jail records show.
Read more »
Tyre Nichols death: Memphis Police Department releases video of Nichols’ arrestFive officers fired last week from the Memphis Police Department face murder and other charges in the death earlier this month of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, jail records show.
Read more »
Isiah Carey talks on the 5 Memphis Black officers who killed Tyre NicholsMany people expressed surprise that the 5 Memphis officers involved in Tyre Nichols death are all Black. FOX 26's Isiah Carey tells us you shouldn't be as some Black law enforcement officers being tough or brutal towards other Blacks has been going on a long time.
Read more »
Tyre Nichols' mother says Memphis officers 'brought shame' to their families and the Black community | CNNRowVaughn Wells, whose 29-year-old son Tyre Nichols died from injuries sustained during a police traffic stop in Memphis earlier this month, says that the officers involved have 'brought shame to their own families' and 'brought shame to the Black community.'
Read more »
Tyre Nichols Is Another Victim of the Police Brutality Crisis Black People FaceProsecutors have charged five former Memphis police officers with murder in the death of Tyre Nichols, who died January 10 of kidney failure and cardiac arrest after a vicious beating three days earlier during a traffic stop.
Read more »