On this edition of Your Call, we discuss the deadly police beating of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man. Video footage shows Memphis, Tennessee police officers brutally beating, kicking, and pepper spraying him as pleaded to go home and cried out for his mom whose home was about 100 yards away.
A police report written hours after the incident fails to mention the brutal beating, and instead claims Nichols "started to fight" with officers and reached for one of their guns. In an interview with CNN, Nichols’ mom RowVaughn Wells said when officers pounded on her door after the beating, she was told he'd been arrested for a DUI and was asked if he was on drugs.
Last Thursday, five officers who brutally beat Nichols were charged with crimes, including second degree murder. Since then, two additional officers have been suspended, along with two Sheriff deputies. Two EMTs and a fire lieutenant have been fired.
Why were charges brought so swiftly compared to past incidents of police brutality?
Guests:
Randolph McClaughlin, lawyer for the New York based law firm Newman Ferrara LLP, and professor at Pace University School of Law
Austin McCoy, assistant professor of history at West Virginia University
Web Resources:
Truthout, Auston McCoy: We Must Refuse “Normal Life” After Police Violence Like Killing of Tyre Nichols
The New York Times: 71 Commands in 13 Minutes: Officers Gave Tyre Nichols Impossible Orders
The New York Times: Initial Police Report on Tyre Nichols Arrest Is Contradicted by Videos
MLK50: Tyre Nichols is dead. 5 cops are indicted. We still have questions.
ABC: Why police training in the US falls short compared to the rest of the world: Report
