By now we should all be familiar with the senseless beating and murder of Memphis' Tyre Nichols. And if you aren't, or your only information has come from fleeting Instagram stories and TikTok comment sections, this is how the story goes (courtesy of NPR):
On January 7, 29-year-old Tyre Nichols was said to have been pulled over for reckless driving only a couple of hundred yards from his family home. Attempting to run away - likely to his own house, Nichols was quickly chased down and beaten, dying after three days in the hospital. Originally, police had described the incident in a less violent and obvious way, saying that he was confronted by the officers and later complained of shortness of breath, conveniently leaving out the part where they beat him unrecognizable. In videos later released (watch at your own risk) the truth was revealed,
In the videos, officers are seen dragging Nichols from his car and shouting profanities throughout the confrontation. An officer tries to deploy a Taser at Nichols and then begins to chase him on foot. "I'm just trying to go home," Nichols is heard saying. Later, officers are seen repeatedly kicking, punching and using a baton to strike Nichols as he lies on the ground. At one point he's heard yelling 'Mom' (Franklin and Bowman 2023).
While unfortunately, this is a tale as old as time, the real shock (to some) of Nichols' death is this - the five officers fired and charged are all Black. Weeks later it was revealed that there were actually seven officers involved, one being unnamed to date, and the other being white. The protection of these other officers is an entirely separate issue, and I trust that we all know what exactly that issue is. The focus of the case, of course, has been on the irony of the perpetrators being the same race as the man they worked together to kill, posing the question of where this tragedy lies on the spectrum of social issues. The argument is being made that it has nothing to do with racism and white supremacy and in fact, disproves the platforms of Black Lives Matter and other grassroots organizations working against police brutality and racism in law enforcement. Some might call it a "Black on Black" crime or take out the racial element altogether, but these people would be wrong. This is nothing new (because nothing ever is). This is simply another case of police brutality, of cops acting as though they exist above the law and that their uniform and badge give them free rein to say and do whatever they please, so long as they acted in "the name of the law". The way I see it, this crime is not Black, it's blue, and the police have shown us time and time again that that color comes before any other.
In 2020, when "ACAB'' made its way into the mainstream and people finally woke up to the inherent racism and inequality that exists within and is perpetuated by the police force, those on the other side of the fence made claims of "good cops" and "changing the system from within." As Audre Lorde - and my Women's Studies professor - once said, "The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house." If change is to be made, it absolutely cannot and will not happen from the inside, and telling yourself that is simply a poor excuse used to relieve people of the guilt they feel for being active participants in the systems that oppress us. As I have said many times, a few on this very blog, there is no such thing as a good cop. As soon as the badge is put on, all else is taken off. In fact, it can be said that in an effort to prove themselves, many of these "good cops'' will go above and beyond to demonstrate their loyalty to the institution. Let's not forget that a Black cop was involved in the 2020 death of George Floyd, one who cited his whole reason for joining the force as - picture me doing air quotes - to fix the system.
This is how we end up referencing a situation like the death of Tyre Nichols, where five Black cops are at the center of it all. In the videos, they can be heard yelling profanities and making threats. Officers - in only the first minute of the interaction, say to Tyre, "You gon get your a** blown the f*** up," and "b**** put your hands behind your back before I break them."
If you are an avid user of Instagram you'll have seen by now the widely shared James Baldwin quote discussing his experience with Black police.
We used to say, “If you must call a policeman”— for we hardly ever did—“for God’s sake, try to make sure it’s a White one.” A Black policeman could completely demolish you. He knew far more about you than a White policeman could and you were without defenses before this Black brother in uniform whose entire reason for breathing seemed to be his hope to offer proof that, though he was Black, he was not Black like you.
In watching - through the gaps between my fingers as I tried to cover my eyes - the videos released by the Memphis police department, this idea is evident. As their white colleagues watch, they feel the pressure to say with every blow that they are not like this criminal that lies before them. This is not their cousin or friend from the neighborhood. In being so violent and so cruel they prove time and time again where their loyalty lies. At what point do we believe them?
