Caribbean-American legislators on Friday expressed profound outrage over the police killing of an unarmed black man in Memphis, Tennessee earlier this month.
Late Friday, Memphis Police released body camera and surveillance footage of police officers kicking and punching Tyre Nichols, 29, on Saturday, January 7. Nichols died in the hospital three days later.
- Advertisement -
The Shelby County District Attorney in Tennessee has charged five black Memphis Police Department officers with second-degree murder, aggravated assault and kidnapping, and official misconduct and oppression.
“Tyre Nichols should be alive today. Time and time again, Black Americans have been forced to confront the senseless violence and deaths of Black men at the hands of law enforcement,” Congresswoman Yvette D Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC). “My heart and condolences go out to Tyre Nichols’ family and friends as we share in the grief and mourn his loss.”
“As New Yorkers, we are well accustomed to the painful truth that our country has a shameful history of turning a blind eye to the hate, bigotry, and violence of police brutality that has led to the torture, abuse, and death of unarmed black and brown people,” added Clarke, first vice chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York.
“Last Congress, I helped lead the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which holds our legal system and police accountable. And I intend on fighting for this crucial legislation again and again until it is finally signed into law,” she continued. “This must end. We cannot rest, we cannot falter, and we cannot sit idly by as we continue to watch our brothers and sisters die at the hands of law enforcement.
“No more hashtags, empty promises, or meaningless lip service…We need justice, and we will keep fighting until we have it,” the congresswoman said. CMC
