Memphis approves police reforms after fatal beating of Tyre Nichols
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A poster of Tyre Nichols holding his daughter displayed during a news conference at Mason Temple in Memphis on Jan 31.
PHOTO: AFP
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MEMPHIS – The Memphis City Council on Tuesday approved a series of police reforms in the wake of the death of Mr Tyre Nichols, following his beating by police during a traffic stop
The ordinances create an annual review of police training techniques, require police to use only marked vehicles for routine traffic stops, strengthen citizen review boards, and require more police data collection.
The death of Mr Nichols, 29, an unarmed black man, prompted outrage and calls for change.
Nationwide in the United States, police have come under increasing pressure to alter their practices since the 2020 death in Minneapolis of Mr George Floyd, another African American who died at the hands of the police.
In Mr Nichols’ case, five officers, all black, have been charged with second-degree murder.
The officers yanked him from his car and immediately shouted vulgarity-laced orders and threatened him with bodily harm.
They went on to beat and kick Mr Nichols,
The violence of the beating was revealed in four separate videos of the incident, totalling about 67 minutes, that the city released on Jan 27.
Another 20 hours of video will be released on Wednesday, Memphis’ chief legal officer Jennifer Sink told a city council committee earlier on Tuesday.
The ordinances approved on Tuesday passed a required third reading before the council, including one that mandates police use only marked patrol cars for routine traffic stops.
After that ordinance passed, reform supporters in the audience chanted: “Justice for Tyre!”
Some officers in Mr Nichols’ case drove unmarked cars and formed part of a special unit that has since been disbanded.
Other measures passed would strengthen the role of citizen review boards, even though pending state legislation would strip power from such panels, potentially rendering the city’s action irrelevant.
A more far-reaching reform named the “Tyre Nichols Justice in Policing Ordinance” passed a first reading but needs to be heard by the council two more times to get approved.
Those measures would ban racial profiling, require police to intervene when their colleagues use excessive force, and oblige police to offer assistance to suspects in danger or distress.
Even before the new rules, 13 officers came under investigation for their conduct in Mr Nichols’ case, said Ms Sink, who told the committee that the city’s investigation had concluded.
Seven of the 13 officers were fired, three were suspended, two had charges dismissed, and one resigned in lieu of termination, she said.
The five officers facing criminal charges all pleaded not guilty
