On the night of Jan. 7 in Memphis, Tennessee, 39-year-old Tyre Nichols was pulled over at a red light by Memphis police officers. The officers proceeded to fatally abuse him in his neighborhood less than 100 yards from his home. After being beaten, kicked, tased and pepper sprayed, Nichols was transported to a local hospital, where he died three days later.
Black Americans are killed by law enforcement at a rate 2.5 times higher than white Americans. These incidents have become the foundation for the recharge of the Black Lives Matter movement across the country. Despite countless murders making national headlines, they only continue to happen, with each seemingly more brutal than the last.
When body camera footage of Nichols’ being abused was released by the Memphis Police Department via Vimeo on Jan. 27, people speculated about the commands given to Nichols by the officers, whether or not Nichols posed a true threat and if the officers acted within their jurisdiction.
According to the New York Times, modern police training requires only one officer to deliver direct commands at such a scene, and if the suspect shows defiance, the officers are to act professionally and proportionately. Officers ignored both of these guidelines in Nichols’s case. In the video footage, five officers are shown shouting contradictory instructions at Nichols, while continuing to pepper spray and abuse him before he could answer their questions.
Only five of the officers at the scene were charged and tried, though the video shows 10 to 12 total. All of the officers were there as bystanders, and all should be punished to some degree for not taking action to prevent Nichols’ death.
The police department was not so quick to release definite evidence of the officers’ wrongdoing — the video was published three weeks after the incident. But when they did release the footage, it greatly helped Nichols’s case. Though some of the alleged officers have pleaded not guilty, their actions as presented in the video stray extremely far from police department protocol.
Though horrific, the Tyre Nichols video is essential for all Americans to watch, especially those from areas where racial prejudice is perceived to not exist. In reality, racism is an issue everywhere, but it is only exacerbated in certain parts of the country.
Restricting access to the video by age is appropriate, as the violence may not be suitable for younger children. However, choosing not to watch the video because it is “just another murder” or it is “disturbing” is precisely why it demands to be watched. The Tyre Nichols case proves that despite seemingly ineffective progress made toward racial equality in the government, movements like BLM have restored faith in the civilian population and reignited a mindset for change, driving those who are involved to reach new heights.
Watching Nichols suffer in a way that no human should ever have to is a reminder to the country that simply reposting about this type of incident on your Instagram will not enact any real change. True change comes only with creating a force of American citizens who are not weakened, but instead empowered by their disturbance at such horrors and take actions to stop them.
