Tyre Nichols and his “confrontation” with the Memphis Police
Tyre Nichols and his “confrontation” with the Memphis Police
The Memphis Police Department’s initial account of Tyre Nichols's death is a reminder that police lie regularly.
On January 7th, Memphis police pulled over Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man. During the traffic stop, several officers savagely beat him as he cried out for his mother.
I have no interest in sharing the video, but Nichols was hit with a baton, punched and kicked in the chest repeatedly, tasered, and pepper sprayed. The officers laughed while Nichols was on the ground, with one apparently proud of his work, saying, “I was hitting him with straight haymakers, dog.”
You wouldn’t have known any of this, however, if the only information you had was the police report on the traffic stop.
The initial press release from Memphis Police read that they had a “confrontation” with Nichols on January 7, and he “complained of having a shortness of breath” after he was “apprehended.” Nichols died three days later. Five Black police officers were fired and later charged with murder.
The press release failed to mention any of the violence these officers inflicted on Nichols.
What’s more—there appears to be no evidence that Nichols was actually driving recklessly, as was claimed by police. "We have not been able to substantiate reckless driving,” Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis said in an interview with CNN. It took 20 days before the police chief would take questions from the press regarding the fatal arrest, according to Shimon Prokupecz, CNN’s senior crime and justice correspondent.
For many, the brutal beating was alarmingly reminiscent of the 2020 murder of George Floyd by police, which sparked massive nationwide protests. Similar marches have popped up across the U.S. since the video’s release.
You may remember that, following George Floyd’s murder, the Minneapolis Police Department stated he died after a “medical incident” and “he appeared to be suffering medical distress” during the arrest. Darnella Frazier captured George Floyd's murder on her cellphone, providing the clearest bystander video of the entire altercation, which was later used as evidence in the trial.
Walter Scott was shot and killed by former North Charleston police officer Michael Slager in 2015. Slager initially alleged that Scott took his Taser and tried to use it against him, which led to the fatal shooting. If it weren’t for bystander video showing Slager shooting Scott in the back as he ran, we’d likely only have the police account of the stop.
A 75-year-old protester in Buffalo, New York, was shoved by officers, causing him to fall backward, splitting his head on the cement. A police spokesperson said the protester “tripped & fell.”
16 officers conspired to cover up 17-year-old Laquan McDonald’s murder.
A former Louisville officer admitted to falsifying information in the warrant that led to Breonna Taylor's death.
I could go on, but you get the point. Whether police are falsifying information, omitting key details, or just flat-out lying, Nichols’s death is more proof to never accept police statements at face value.
It is critical to remember that police statements are simply PR, and we—particularly journalists—should always default to skepticism whenever police allege something has happened.
Police lie. A lot.
Related:
If you haven’t watched the video, you don’t have to watch.
GoFundMe has verified that RowVaughn Wells, the mother of Tyre Nichols, created a memorial fund.