John,
Police stole the life of another Black man.
This time, it’s Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old father, son and beloved community member.
On Jan. 7, Memphis Police Department officers claimed they pulled Tyre over for reckless driving, an assertion the police chief has since admitted police have not been able to substantiate.1 2 Within minutes of the encounter, officers chased him, pinned him facedown on the asphalt and viciously beat him, even as he begged for his life.3
Tyre died in a hospital bed three days later — eyes bruised and swollen shut, his neck fractured and attached to a respirator to help him breathe. Cause of death: "Extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating," according to an autopsy report.4
John, the camera footage is hard to watch. The five officers – all of them Black – treated Tyre like “a human piñata,” beating him for three full minutes. Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis, who saw the video, said the officers denied Tyre his "humanity" in the vicious attack, and fired all five of them.5 Days later, Steve Mulroy, the city’s top prosecutor, charged each officer with second-degree murder and kidnapping.
Let us be clear: The fact that the five officers who killed Tyre are Black makes no difference. Policing in this country is a racist institution in need of a root-and-branch overhaul. Hiring more Black officers will not fix it. More funding or training will not fix it. The structure and culture of policing in this country is killing Black people. Period.
John: Tyre should be alive right now. Instead, his 4-year-old son will grow up without his father. Color Of Change has been in touch with leaders and activists on the ground. We cannot allow police violence to continue to kill our loved ones and destroy our families and communities.
Demand Justice for Tyre. Sign the petition
Daunte Wright. Philando Castile. Now, Tyre Nichols. All were Black men who died at the hands of police who stopped them allegedly for traffic violations.
More often than not, pretextual stops – when a police officer stops a vehicle to conduct a “speculative criminal investigation” unrelated to the motorist's driving – are to blame and are not used to enforce the traffic code.6
On Jan. 3, Los Angeles police tased and killed Keenan Anderson, a young father and schoolteacher, during a traffic stop. The names of Black people murdered for simply existing go on and on.
On Jan. 28, the Memphis Police Department disbanded the SCORPION (Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in our Neighborhoods) police unit that killed Tyre Nichols. 7
And two additional Memphis police officers and three emergency responders with the Memphis Fire Department have been suspended or fired for their actions connected with Tyre's beating and death.8
This is a huge victory for Tyre's loved ones and community members who fought to make this decision a reality.
Here are our initial demands:
John, we know that there is no single solution to the problems represented by policing in our country. When we unite and hold powerful people and institutions to account, we win. Thousands of members like you have joined our call for justice for Keenan, Daunte and so many others. And we can win justice for Tyre – if we maintain pressure on the Memphis City Council to take action. This issue is too big for them to ignore. Will you join the fight?
tell memphis city council: We need justice for tyre
Our policing system is in crisis, and it’s killing Black men – our brothers, husbands, fathers and sons. The five officers who beat Tyre to death were fired and charged with crimes, but officers rarely face punishment for abusing Black people. Even viral videos documenting their brutality aren't enough to cost them their badges, paychecks, or pensions. Officers who have committed deadly acts of violence continue to walk free as the Black men, women, and children they took from us are gone.
This must end. And John, we have the power to end it if we fight together.
The swift indictment of these officers results from the work our members like you, John, have done to elect reform-minded prosecutors committed to holding police accountable. Our ability to build a powerful narrative through our action and advocacy has put some of our leaders on notice that they must do something. But more needs to be done – it’s not enough to fire police officers if the structures and institutions aren’t changed.
sign the petition. Demand Accountability
Until justice is real,
Rashad Robinson, President, Color Of Change
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