I don’t believe any one of us was surprised to hear that a murder had occurred in Memphis on January 7th. But then we heard the rest of the story. Five Memphis police officers beat this man to death, while he appeared to have been handcuffed and in custody. As the video shows (linked ABC story below), these officers never tried to protect Tyre Nichols from the violent punches and kicks to the head, but rather they propped him up to be hit again and again by their fellow officers. Much has been made of the officers race, but plain truth of the matter is that five men murdered a weaker man who was in custody using their hands and feet. Some news outlets have brought up the fact that Memphis had relaxed their qualifications for police officers. While that is important to note, beating someone to death is a basic expectation that doesn’t require high level qualifications. These officers were wrong, they heinously ended this mans life, and they should be punished for their actions.
As this case continues to unravel and more individuals are charged with lesser crimes surrounding their failure to complete basic functions or even the failure to act, the Memphis Police Department has a challenge on their hands. How do you restore any public trust and confidence? Should the Police Chief be held responsible as the leader and head of the department?