Hundreds of people came out to protest last night in several US cities, including New York, Atlanta, Washington DC and Detroit, after the release of a video of the violent arrest that led to the death of Tire Nichols at the hands of African-American police officers in Memphis.
At the same time, President Joe Biden and several officials in New York condemned the images. The president said he was “outraged” after seeing the videos and asked people not to resort to violence to express their “justifiable” anger, reported EFE.
“The shameful actions depicted in the posted video are an unequivocal violation of our oath to protect those we serve and a failure of basic human decency,” NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said in a statement yesterday, reiterating the NYPD’s support of the “peaceful protest.”
In New York, more than 100 people demonstrated in Times Square, considered the world’s tourist crossroads. Eric Adams, the city’s mayor and former NYPD, called on citizens to protest peacefully and I call the beating of Nichols by police “outrageous.”
“Seeing what’s being reported, that five black officers are involved in this, it really hurt me personally.”
Eric Adams, Mayor of NYC
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul shared similar sentiments on Twitter, saying the police are “sorely in need of redress.”
Nichols, 29, was arrested on January 7 by police for reckless driving, but a “confrontation” broke out in the middle of the situation. The young man died three days later. Five Memphis police officers involved in the beating have been fired and face various criminal charges.
Adams, who during his years as an NYPD officer co-founded an organization that advocated for police diversity and against abuses of power, said he “felt betrayed” by the officers accused of Nichols’ death in Memphis.
“I advocated for years, during my time at 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement and as a civil rights activist… Seeing what was reported, that five black officers are involved in this, it really hurt me personally,” Adams said when asked. asked about Nichols at a Metro briefing yesterday. “I always believed that diversifying our departments with different ethnic groups would allow us to have the level of surveillance that we all deserve,” he added, quoted by NBC News.
“Any officer who engages in violence and brutality tarnishes all the work we have done to keep communities safe,” Adams insisted: “They make it harder for brothers and sisters in uniform to do the incredible work they do, day after day. day”.