On Jan. 10, 2023, Tyre Nichols was pulled over in Memphis, Tennessee for what appeared to be a routine traffic stop. What occurred after was a brutal beating by five officers for more than three minutes, which led to his death.
On May 8, a mostly white jury selected from Hamilton County and Chattanooga, Tennessee acquitted three of the five police officers of all state charges, including second-degree murder. The other two had previously pleaded guilty.
While Nichols’s death was avoidable and absolutely unacceptable, he is not the sole victim of a police system that relies on oppression, violence and intimidation. Since the death of George Floyd, false promises of positive change and accountability have been floated in front of communities throughout the United States, including the demand to demilitarize police forces.
In Chattanooga alone, more than $91 million was allotted to police funding in 2024 yet the poverty level in Chattanooga has remained at a staggering 17.6% over the past four years. Capitalism relies on brutal violence and oppression to continue its cycle of exploitation.
In Memphis, Tennessee, a proposed budget outline would allocate more than $307 million to the Memphis Police Department. Of this, nearly $15 million has been requested for overtime costs. Meanwhile, poverty within Memphis has increased to 21.4%, including a child poverty rate of 32.7%, both of which impact Black and Latino families disproportionately.
Speaking to Fox13 News Channel in Memphis, Nichols’s mother, RowVaughn Wells stated, “We have gotten so much injustice from this city that it is ridiculous. My son was murdered by five Memphis Police Officers. He was murdered.”
Wells spoke briefly of the civil suit that is expected to bankrupt the city, saying, “I don’t care about the civil lawsuit right now. The only thing I’m concerned about is justice for my son.”
Tyre Nichols should be here with us today and his killers behind bars for their crimes and their violence. Police impunity must end. We must answer this call to end police brutality. Not just for Nichols, but for every person who has died or been harmed by a system that relies on repression, intimidation and violence. We stand in solidarity with Nichols’s family in demanding justice on his behalf.
Feature image: Justice for Tyre Nichols protest, March 18, 2023. Liberation photo: Gloria La Riva.
