Police brutality continued in Memphis

Footage of the attack on Tyre Nichols has been spreading all across social media platforms and the news. He was held down and beaten by Memphis police on Jan. 7 and ended up dying from internal bleeding as a result. 

There is currently speculation as to why Nichols was stopped that Saturday, with some sources saying it was due to reckless driving, but with others saying he pepper sprayed two EMTs on the scene. 

Videos circulating include camera recordings from nearby buildings and even body camera footage from the police. Cops pulled Nichols out of his vehicle and forced him to lie on the ground with a taser pressed against his leg. 

He fled from the scene but was soon found in a nearby neighborhood. 

Five Memphis police officers who were able to locate him were seen holding him down, kicking Nichols in the face and body, dragging him across the floor, and punching him. 

You could hear Nichols’ cries as he yelled for his mother all in the midst of this violence. 

The beating lasted for about three minutes straight, and paramedics rushed to the scene after he complained about shortness of breath and intense bleeding.

Police tried to justify the attack, stating that Nichols had pepper spray and that they felt threatened at the scene. 

Tyre Nichols died in the hospital three days after the attacks due to internal bleeding and the outcomes of the beating. He was only 29 years old. 

All five Memphis police officers at the scene were charged with murder, two accounts of official misconduct, and aggravated assault. They were all fired from the police department on Jan. 20, just 10 days after Nichols’s death. 

“I believe that the way the MPD officers handled the situation was obnoxious. In the video, Nichols was acting in a non-threatening way, seemingly afraid of the direction his life was headed towards, given that he was being abused regardless of complying,” said senior Ramon Gonzalez. 

The want for safety and change is being demanded by people all over the world because of the treatment and death of Tyre Nichols. These protests will simply not go away.

“The police’s continuous attitude towards Black Americans is cycling back to the incident of George Floyd. In America’s modern state, as we have overcome many problems in regard to discrimination, it is foolish to return to America’s old ways. There must be a change in how we address these issues,” said Gonzalez.

Although the event occurred in Tennessee the news has spread all over the world. Protests have arisen in cities all over the U.S., including Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York, Asheville, Charlotte, Memphis, and many more. 

This is the beginning of something much larger, and these cities will not stop until justice is served to not only Nichols’ family but to many other people who have died as a result of police brutality.