On the evening of the 27th local time, the police in Memphis, Tennessee, USA released the video of the death of an African-American man, Tire Nichols, who was violently forced by the police on the 7th of this month.
After the video was released, protests began in many places across the United States, condemning the deep problems of police brutality and racism in the United States.
In Memphis, local people took to the streets to hold rallies, and protesters once occupied a local interstate bridge demanding that the police involved be severely punished.
Ripley, protester in Memphis: I don’t think it’s enough to arrest the police involved We need to make systemic changes to prevent things like this from happening again.
In Washington, DC, protesters gathered outside the White House to demand justice for the victims.
In Detroit, Michigan, protesters braved the wind and snow to take to the streets to speak on behalf of the victims.
Detroit Protester Lewis: It’s infuriating that this kind of tragedy happens over and over again, and it continues to cause trauma and destruction.
In New York, a large number of people held a protest in Times Square, playing slogans such as “End Police Violence” and shouting slogans such as “No Justice, No Peace”. Some protesters also clashed with the police. At least three Arrested protesters.
New York Protesters: In the United States, at least one minority is killed by the police or a racist every 28 hours. This means that “Nichols” almost every night is killed.
New York Protesters: I think the most frustrating thing is that there have been many large-scale protests in the United States in 2020. But so far, little progress has been made in many areas.
On the same day, protests began in Chicago, Atlanta and other cities. According to US media reports, rallies and demonstrations are also planned in Boston, Portland, and Oregon.
The victim’s family is calling for the police to be brought to justice
On the 28th local time, the American media released a video of an interview with the parents of Tire Nichols, the victim killed by police violence. They said the actions of the Tennessee police must be punished as they should be.
Tye Nichols’ mother said she was only told by police after the incident that her son had been shocked and pepper sprayed. However, when she arrived at the hospital and saw her son’s injuries, she realized that her son had suffered unimaginable violence at the hands of law enforcement.
Tyrus Nichols Lovaughn’s mom: Doctors are putting him on all these ventilators and he’s in cardiac arrest, kidney failure. This came as a complete shock to me because it was nothing like what the police told me.
The video released by police showed that after intercepting Nichols’ traffic, the police involved used a stun gun and pepper spray on him, and beat him with batons. Nichols’ stepfather said those involved in violent law enforcement must be punished as they should be.
Rodney, Tye Nichols’ stepfather: I want people to understand why these cops are charged with murder. My son was only 136 pounds and the abuse by five police officers was appalling. The public need to see this so they can make up their own minds.
A Tennessee lawmaker is calling for a thorough investigation into the incident
On the 28th local time, some Tennessee state legislators held a press conference to protest the death of African-American man Tire Nichols due to police violence and call for a detailed investigation into the police violence involved.
Rep. Tennessee Downes: I’m calling for a thorough investigation into this, and it looks like there could be something else behind it. They dragged a man out of a car for no reason and beat him to death as if something else was hiding behind him.
In view of the video of violent law enforcement released by the police, the congressmen present said that the case must be thoroughly investigated before it could touch the deep problem of excessive use of force by police America in law enforcement. During the speeches, some congressmen present could not hide their disappointment with the police system and their dissatisfaction with the police’s brutal law enforcement.
Tennessee Congressman Hardaway: There is a so-called “elite army” roaming the streets, but we don’t know who this army is responsible for.
Congressman Downs from Tennessee: When you see your colleagues doing something wrong, you should step forward to stop them, instead of having ten people (bystanders) let five people personally torture and kill others.
News Observation丨Why violent police law enforcement incidents are frequent in the United States
According to US police violence tracking website data, in 2022, violent law enforcement incidents by US police will cause 1,186 deaths, the highest level in 10 years, and 26% of the victims are Americans African.
Many people can’t help but wonder, the death of Freud, an African-American man who was “kneeled on the neck” by the police in 2020, has sparked protests against police violence in the United States. Why has everything remained the same after more than two years?
More than two years of police reform have had little effect
After the Floyd case, there was a wave of protests against police violence and racial discrimination across the United States, demanding reform of the police system. Over the past two years, the US police have indeed carried out some reforms, for example, the police are required to use law enforcement cameras extensively during law enforcement, prohibiting direct intervention without a statement , and must intervene when colleagues engage in violent law enforcement.
The Memphis Police Department, which was exposed to violent law enforcement at this time, has also implemented reforms, but the tragedy still occurs. It can be seen that police reform in the United States has had little effect, and violent law enforcement incidents against ethnic minorities still occur frequently.
The police system has a deep tradition of racism
The most fundamental reason behind this is probably the deep tradition of racial discrimination in the police system. Therefore, some people believe that the most needed reform in America’s police system is to change the institutionalized police culture that uses excessive violence against ethnic minorities.
Broad powers of arrest by the police, increasingly aggressive enforcement by the day
Some analysts believe that another core problem that leads to frequent incidents of police violence in the United States is that the police have broad arrest powers, and even minor crimes can meet the conditions for arrest, which has led to more frequent, unnecessary and aggressive. behavior. Statistics show that since 2017 American police have caused almost 600 deaths in traffic inspections alone.
The proliferation of guns, the police are used to pulling out their guns to protect themselves in law enforcement
In addition, the proliferation of guns is also a factor that cannot be ignored because police violence often occurs in law enforcement. The number of private guns in the United States is too large, and there are more guns than people, which makes it easier for the American police to pull out their guns to protect their own safety in law enforcement.
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