by Karl Rodney
The Killing of Tyre Nichols at the hands of five police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, is sheer brutality and inhumanity displayed in a very vile way.
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Nichols was pulled over on January 7th for what police said was reckless driving. After attempting to flee on foot, Nichols was aggressively beaten by police, a video recently released shows. Tyre attacked and beaten. Three days later, he died in the hospital.
This episode of cruelty and disregard for any kind of human decency is familiar to Americans and the victims are usually men of color.
What happened two years ago to George Floyd, May 25, 2020, where we saw unbelievable cruelty and there was a thought that the country would see a change after witnessing his brutal murder.
We now see in Memphis, Tennessee the beating of Mr. Nichols much in the same way as what happened to George Floyd, relentless and selfless pattern of a human being brutalizing another human being. It’s unbelievable.
The cases of Nichols and Floyd are similar in great degrees, but there is one significant difference, in that, the attackers, the police officers battering Nichols, are Black officers.
After George Floyd, waves of protest, some violent, most not, there was a movement in the country to do something about policing and the cruelty that existed in the treatment of black and brown individuals. There was a hope that the George Floyd incident would have led to a better understanding.
Congress was moved by the tragic death of George Floyd and put forth The George Floyd Policing Act.
George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021
This bill addresses a wide range of policies and issues regarding policing practices and law enforcement accountability. It increases accountability for law enforcement misconduct, restricts the use of certain policing practices, enhances transparency and data collection, and establishes best practices and training requirements.
The bill enhances existing enforcement mechanisms to remedy violations by law enforcement. Among other things, it does the following:
– Lowers the criminal intent standard—from willful to knowing or reckless—to convict a law enforcement officer for misconduct in a federal prosecution,
– Limits qualified immunity as a defense to liability in a private civil action against a law enforcement officer, and
– Grants administrative subpoena power to the Department of Justice (DOJ) in pattern-or-practice investigations.
It establishes a framework to prevent and remedy racial profiling by law enforcement at the federal, state, and local levels. It also limits the unnecessary use of force and restricts the use of no-knock warrants, chokeholds, and carotid holds.
The bill creates a national registry—the National Police Misconduct Registry—to compile data on complaints and records of police misconduct. It also establishes new reporting requirements, including on the use of force, officer misconduct, and routine policing practices (e.g., stops and searches).
Finally, it directs DOJ to create uniform accreditation standards for law enforcement agencies and requires law enforcement officers to complete training on racial profiling, implicit bias, and the duty to intervene when another officer uses excessive force.
The act was indeed passed by the House, but got nowhere in the Senate.
The George Floyd Justice and Policing Act was introduced in 2021when he died from a police officer kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes.
The bill was an effort to stop the aggressive law enforcement tactics that were used, especially against black and brown people.
Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney that represents the Nichols family has reported that the Nichols family had spoken with President Biden after the death of their son and urged him to use their son’s death to galvanize support for the passage of the George Ford Police Action Law; Attorney Crump also reported that Tyre’s mother believes in her heart that Tyre was sent here for an assignment and that there’s going to be a greater good that will come from the tragedy of his death. She feels he was here to change the world. It is the hope that Tyre’s mother is right; there needs to be a radical change to policing in the United States.
In a statement, Biden says: Like so many, I was outraged and deeply pained to see the horrific video of the beating that resulted in Tyre Nichols’ death. It is yet another painful reminder of the profound fear and trauma, the pain, and the exhaustion that Black and Brown Americans experience every single day …
We must do everything in our power to ensure our criminal justice system lives up to the promise of fair and impartial justice, equal treatment, and dignity for all. Real and lasting change will only come if we take action to prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again. That is why I called on Congress to send the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to my desk. When Senate Republicans blocked that bill, I signed an executive order that mandated stricter use of force standards and accountability provisions for federal law enforcement, as well as measures to strengthen accountability at the state and local level.
Vice President Kamala Harris will attend the funeral of Tyre Nichols on Wednesday in Memphis, where the Rev Al Sharpton will deliver a eulogy and civil rights attorney Ben Crump will announce a “call to action” in the wake of the death of the 29-year-old Black man.
The beating of Nichols was another reminder of the profound fear trauma, the pain and exhaustion that Black and brown Americans experience every day. We wish for Nichol’s family to be right and that in fact some good might come of a death.
His death is the latest high profile example of excessive and brutal force that is employed against Black and brown people in this country.
Attorney Crump says it is this culture. “We must do everything in our power to ensure our criminal justice system lives up to the promise of fair and impartial justice, equal treatment, and dignity for all. Real and lasting change will only come if we take action to prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again. That is why I called on Congress to send the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to my desk. When Senate Republicans blocked that bill, I signed an executive order that mandated stricter use of force standards and accountability provisions for federal law enforcement, as well as measures to strengthen accountability at the state and local level.”
The officers involved have been on the force for a while, no one said no, no one said stop no one thought about another human beings’ life.
The organization, the culture has permitted this kind of officer to stay inside and strive.
This carnage must stop, and it is the responsibility of the political leaders to respond to this systemic terror that exists in this country mostly affecting black and brown people. This must stop. Now.
And human and civil rights must be protected. The change to policing is essential, urgent, and must be undertaken, and a good place to begin would be the George Floyd in Policing Act.
Let us take action and push Congress for action on this one.
