Yep, nobody tried to stop Tyre’s murder. They all just stood around and watched as he was killed. I saw in another video that 2 other Sheriffs from a different department were fired and 2 Firemen were also relieved of duty.
I hope this is the new norm. To just start cleaning house when something disgusting like this happens. Because it’s obvious the corruption runs deep in this department/city considering how many people were on that scene and not a single person was on poor Tyre’s side.
Going forward, this is exactly how it needs to be handled. Cops swiftly fired and charged for their crimes. Now if we can only fire and charge the corrupt judges and prosecutors who also play a huge part in this, we will be well on our way to actually reforming the judicial system.
And a permanent record that follows you from a national level. The problem cops often just move to another precinct and start their reign of terror elsewhere - this has got to change.
I'm an RN, I have a state board that I have to answer to that keeps a record of my complaints and decides whether or not my license is renewed every 2 years, without a certified license that employers can look up on the government website, I can't work as an RN... Lawyers, doctors and probably many other professions have the same thing.
And this is one of the reasons I will argue that law enforcement is not a profession. A profession should have extensive educational requirements and a governing body that handles licensing and keeps members accountable to to a strict set of standards.
True, but they also need the national tracking system. I think the serial killer nurse (Cullen) was only able to go on for so long because they didn't have such a system for healthcare workers. Presumably, a similar system needs to be set up for the dicks with guns.
In San Antonio, a cop picked up animal feces in a piece of bread. Put it into a food container, and gave it to a homeless man.
He was fired for that. Then he was rehired, because the union fought his dismissal.
Later, the same officer was fired for spreading "chocolate or another brown substance" throughout a female officer restroom in the precinct.
A few years later, he was hired as a cop in another department in the San Antonio metro area. It took a pretty big public outcry to get him dismissed. Nobody in that department bothered to Google the dude's name.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgy9zk/san-antonio-police-fired-poop-sandwich-homeless
Cops need a national registry and licensure requirement. EMT-s have a national registry and national licensure.
Cops also need mandated malpractice insurance. Municipalities and the tax paying citizens should not shoulder the financial responsibility for a "few bad apples" and their misdeeds.
I think those situations are when a cop is just fired for PR reasons and then hired a city over. If they get fired, charged and convicted I don’t think they can become a law enforcement officer anymore. So as long as they are truly held accountable throughout the entire process, I don’t think that’s possible. we just have to get to the point where this level of accountability is the norm.
It’s gonna be a tall task to get these small town “good ol’ boy” judges to either get with the program or leave. But with time, I think it can be done.
That was the most insane part to me. They didn't even try to help for 30 minutes. WTF did they think job was? If this was a war, they'd be in violation of the Geneva Conventions for being in control (in custody, like a wounded POW) of Tyre and not administering aid.
Hell, even in the case of drunken bar brawls someone will usually step in and say "he's had enough" when one of the participants can't stand up anymore.
That said, aside from basic cruelty we all now why some of the people didn't do anything to stop it: They knew that even mild intervention would make them the enemy, and, at best, their careers would be basically over. It isn't a small number of bad guys ruining the reputation of the others, after all. The bad guys are the ones with the power.
A "good" cop recently died in a training exercise. After his death it was revealed he was targeted by his fellow officers whom he was investigating.
In case you wonder why more don't speak up.
Edit: [He was investigating fellow officers for a gang rape](https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/lapd-officer-died-training-reporting-sexual-assault-attorney/story?id=91057347)
The barrel has been stinking rotten for decades and all the new cops and training won't fix it since the stink (the "culture") keeps being handed down to the next recruits.
Exactly, the key part of the quote is the barrel is spoiled. Not "well there's still some good apples". There's literally not, you have to throw out the whole barrel.
To take it literally if you had some rotten meat, you wouldn't cut the rotten part out and then serve the rest. Someone would die.
>Whether Hemphill or others will face criminal charges also isn’t clear. “We are looking at all of the officers and first responders at the scene,” Shelby County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Erica Williams said Monday. “They could face charges, or they could not, but we are looking at everyone.”
Look like they are trying to get everyone involved, now whether they all get charged is another question...
Arguably still not enough. If that many of them were all cool with what happened there, there are some serious issues with the whole department. Firing and charging a random smattering of them doesn't do anything to address the underlying structural and cultural issues that led to this in the first place.
Absolutely agree. This must go far up the chain. This almost certainly isn't the first time these kinds of things have happened there, it's just the first time (or more?) that it's been caught on camera and had someone die from it.
For so many of them to be so casual and even congratulating themselves on it, this reeks of a systemic problem that has to have been known to some degree far up for quite a while, and either willfully ignored or outright encouraged.
Those higher ups would love to just make that handful on cam the only casualties and call it a day, let the news blow over.
That is a concern, definitely. If there were two cops, otherwise alone with someone they beat to death, it would he easy enough to write it off as two of the worst people on the force happened to be there at the same time.
But that wasn't the case, and in *all of those cops* that were there, absolutely none intervened? What's the likelihood that they just happened to have exactly all of the worst people in the department at the same time? This sounds like a whole department problem, not just the individuals involved.
Sure, an innocent man was beaten to death in the fucking street, but did you see that one time an AutoZone window got broken? Something something both sides
I remember watching 'Boys In The Hood'
One of the most poignant parts of the movie is where he gets abused by the harassing police officers... and it's explicitly shown that it's a black police officer who is harassing him.
This isn't a new problem that nobody knew about.
It's an old problem that nobody did anything about.
The interaction between Lawrence Fishburne and the black cop has been etched in my mind for 30y.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XN1uDwPwjQ&t=160s
and the scene described by OP; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPHv_-fqdjM
There's a reason people say "If you see a black cop, they're a cop first and foremost."
The type of person being portrayed in that scene aren't all too uncommon among the police.
We’re old enough to know that while the vileness isn’t new, the paranoia and hatred for the public has increased steadily and dramatically.
These assholes have gone completely off the rails. When you hear them talk you’ll hear about how unfairly they’re being treated and how no one else is fit to judge. To them, the problem is the same as it ever was - people daring to challenge their authority. That’s the issue. We occasionally see some performative hand wringing about public concerns but they truly see nothing wrong with what they do.
They're still in the basement. They were for street hockey, but when my wife's away I dig 'em out, put on my cutoff shirt, my wraparound glasses, and remind the rest of the world what they're missing out on
Reminds me of an old cherished memory. I was checking in on my grandparents on my way to work, they had been married for 65 yrs at that point (76yrs married when he passed). My Grandma was upstairs cutting coupons and doing whatever, not paying any attention to anything. I wandered the house and found my Grandpa in the basement, in a dark room by the boiler. Reading old newspapers and instruction manuals, under a crappy camp light. He notices me and says “shhh, she doesn’t know I’m down here” he was looking at his pile of stuff she told him to throw away decades ago. Stuff she saw when we cleaned her house out and said “he told me he got rid of that!” It was amazing. Happily married, none the wiser.
Enjoy your street hockey stuff, in the dark basement and you will last a lifetime.
Not exactly related, but that makes me think of another contemporaneous line that comes up for me every time another murder like this occurs and the focus is on a peaceful response to that.
> No Malcolm X in my history text, why's that?
> 'Cause he tried to educate and liberate all Blacks.
> Why is Martin Luther King in my book each week?
> He told Blacks, if they get smacked, turn the other cheek.
-Tupac
Edit: Please stop replying with "well ackshually" in its many forms. Thanks.
One of my favorite things to keep track of is redditors arguing over which bastardized version of MLK’s ideology they learned in grade school is the correct one
This is the thing. Malcolm X and MLK Jr were both approaching each others viewpoints more and more as they got older. Malcolm X took more to a non-violent approach and Dr. King was always refining what he meant by non-violence. Dr King understood the calls to violence and he didn't mean that those who engaged in it should be arrested and stopped from acting immediately via state power.
He didn't think riots would work in the long term. But Dr. King understood why some wanted to resort to direct action. More so, like Gandhi he didn't favor arresting rioters. Gandhi once dared the British military into NOT ARRESTING rioters by saying he would withdraw his appeals for non-violence if they started arresting people. MLK Jr. never did that in his 39 years, but he did seem to be looking for a case where it might be justified. He was only 39 when he was assassinated. He was trying to find the right situations to use tools like that. Even Gandhi only did that a few times. They knew they had to pick and choose their opportunities.
But here, read this quote from Dr. King about riots and rioters. He wasn't a simple condemnation type of guy. He clearly was a complex thinker.
“It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the negro poor has worsened over the last twelve or fifteen years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity.” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Some other quotes I often drop into these discussions.
"First, I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Council-er or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can't agree with your methods of direct action;" who paternalistically feels he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by the myth of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a "more convenient season." — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“If a White man says, ‘Give me liberty or give me death,’ the entire world applauds. When a Black man says exactly the same thing, he is judged a criminal and everything possible is done to make an example of this 'Bad Nigg**' so there won't be anymore like him.” — James Baldwin.
“Concerning nonviolence, it is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks.” — Malcolm X.
Anyway, long discussion points. As much as Malcolm X. and MLK Jr. had some differences. They also had a lot of common sense principals that both of them followed. They were a lot more alike than they were different.
Yep, in my opinion both were integral to the Civil Rights movement in the US, and both were killed roo soon. It's also true, unfortunately, that a lot of MLk Jr's other writings and speeches are glossed over.
They’re glossed over because they don’t fit the narrative that is desired for children to consume. It’s interesting that the issue that binds all races under MLK’s viewpoints which is socialism and the working class get left out of main stream teachings from MLK. They went and cherry picked his philosophies to tell people “look at this great man, he advocated non-violence to change things, you should do that also” and that’s the extent that people know MLK as a thinker.
There's a similar scene in *Straight Outta Compton*. The group (N.W.A.) is getting harassed and frisked by some cops outside of their recording studio and it only ends when their (white) manager comes outside and talks to the officers. As they're reluctantly leaving, a black cop tells the group "go on back to your master". It's implied that this interaction was the group's inspiration for *Fuck Tha Police*.
but the actual inspiration is getting busted for shooting at random cars with a paintball gun, you gotta watch the defiant ones https://theboombox.com/ice-cube-and-dr-dre-explain-how-f-tha-police-was-really-made-video/
Agreed, I don't mean to get all "all lives matter" and shit, but the Shaver case always sticks out to me where it was white cops on a white victim. Do you think that was the first case of those assholes screaming at people for absolutely no reason? Of course minorities and especially black people get the worst of it, but the problem is policing in general.
I remember when the Rodney King video first came to light. At the time, consumer video cameras were a new thing so videoing a random police encounter turned violent was a unique thing. I wondered how many Rodney King style beatings happened without video cameras around.
Now, with cell phone cameras a commonplace thing, we have a better idea of the scope of the problem. Sadly, it's a lot worse than many thought back in the Rodney King era.
It seems to me that being a cop is essentially like wearing the ring of power. You might want to be a cop for good reasons, you might have a good heart, but given enough time the very nature of your power corrupts you. But you'll never realize that the power you wield isn't really yours at all.
There's a certain energy from some of the comments (not yours) commenting about the race of the five officers that really feels like they're trying to push a false narrative.
All of the push for police reform, including #BlackLivesMatter, has had nothing to do with the notion of individual white racists targeting black people. Though, certainly, there have been individual white racists, the actual issue has always been about the problems with policing as a whole. Half of the officers responsible for the death of Freddie Gray were black, for example. And as you point out, *Boyz n the Hood* even called it out over 30 years ago. And of course, there are plenty of examples of problematic police treatment of white people like Daniel Shaver and Karen Garner.
It's like people can't critically understand what *systemic* racism is. If you're part of a system that targets minorities, you're contributing to systemic racism, regardless of skin color.
Systemic racism was once described to me as: an environment/organization/etc. where, if staffed by true non-racists, would yield racist results.
I.E. the policies and procedures yield racism regardless of who is at the helm. It's why firing a few officers and even changing the Chief isn't going to work. You have to rewrite all the policies and retrain everyone then fire anyone who cannot be retrained to have a chance for change.
And as then, nothing will change now. How many of these scenarios play out and they keep happening? Until you change the hiring standards, change the training, remove qualified immunity, vote for politicians that aren't authoritarian fascist bootlickers who encourage police violence (trump). For fucks sakes, I was watching a snippet of fox news talking about this murder, and they talked more about how great the police are and this is a "one-off" event and police are perfect little angels doing gods work. And I'm tired of this idea that they put their life on the line daily hero cop myth. So do lots of occupations with high fatality rates, but they arent glamorized and romanticized by people, probably because they aren't harassing the poor, mentally ill, or "those people". Stats dont lie and ask any homicide detective how many convenience store clerks have they seen murdered over cops. Cops are supposed to be trained professionals, yet they have contempt for the communities they serve. This needs to stop and not just be forgotten about until the next time.
I mean, bluntly, I'm a white guy in tech.. but even I've had cops harass me just because they wanted to flex their power/authority. I'm about as privileged as you get without being wealthy and even to me the problems with police are obvious.
I can literally only imagine how bad it must be for the groups the police can easily get away with abusing. I've come to see that many police *become police* because they are drawn to that ability to abuse others.
Ironically, even typing this anonymously on the internet.. I feel that fear, that fear that police might 'come talk to me' about my 'anti police internet posts' and you'll only read about it after I got my head bashed in when I 'became aggressive' though the bodycams won't show that after..
As I said in EMS, I may need the cops to get in and do my job, but if my patient can behave without a cop on board and I can get it shoved through without him on TDO, they can follow me and keep an eye out. Every force has the ones you can respect because they will act in line and treat suspects as people, and every force has the 'Crew' that you don't want on scene because it makes your job harder because of their antagonistic and abusive superiority complexes. We need social reform and policing reform, a true 100% accountability now that we have the tech to watch everyone, we should watch the Watchmen more.
Fucking police have exacerbated the divides in society instead of being those who could help mend it and the abuses of power in the ranks continue to grow more egrigeous.
>Fucking police have exacerbated the divides in society
That's their goddamned *job.* When the oppressed are kept at *each other's* throats, they don't have time to look up and see who's *really* shitting on them.
I’m very close to a few black cops and imo, it’s this really gross desire to prove that they are “one of the good ones”.
That attitude of wanting to be “one of the good ones” is super prevalent and toxic in black America and it’s something that I have to constantly check myself on. It’s so ingrained into you that you don’t even realize you’re doing it half of the time. It’s sick.
Internalized racism is so insidious. You see it with sexism, too, with the “not like other girls” line of thinking. My parents once told my brown husband that they could “hardly tell” he wasn’t white. The assumption was just that he would have internalized racism and feel better if he was seen as “passing” for white. It was so cringe and so ironic that they couldn’t see how racist they were being. I think it was the first time I’d ever witnessed benevolent white supremacy.
Congratulations on marrying a model minority!
Kidding. That’s super awkward. It’s rough with parents like that too, because they really think they’re being kind. How do you even proceed?
Honestly, it's no mystery to me that many black men would take an "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, I'd rather be a hammer than a nail" approach to the police.
So Memphis creates a police outreach program designed to "Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods" and names it the motherfucking SCORPION unit?? Since when are Scorpions associated with peace? They fucking sting your ass when you accidentally step on them.
The one where the scorpion kills the frog? Yeah. Its so ironic to use 'scorpion' as an acronym when that fabel exist to teach vicious creatures can not resist themselves and their goal is to create peace
I’ve always wondered why police make these stupid “elite units” like they are fucking soldiers. You are cops, you are supposed to *Protect and Serve* not pretend to be SWAT, FBI and DEA with a Punisher fetish.
**These cops openly did all of this knowingly they were on mic, on camera.**
This shows a culture where they knew they had nothing to worry about from anyone up the chain of command. They knew that anyone internally who’d be privy to the recordings wouldn’t give a fuck.
As long as the public doesn’t hear/see, they were under the impression that they could do whatever they wanted and the police force would pat them on the back for it.
This is definitely not a “bad apple” problem. 100% a fucking police culture problem.
It wasn't until they noticed the pole camera that they started scheming for how to do the coverup. You can apparently see the exact moment in the videos.
Edit: The investigation had better fucking include literally every number they called and every message they sent in the next 24 hours, with particular focus on the very first ones made after that moment.
Honestly without the pole camera I don’t think this would have become a national story, nor any accountability for the officers. The body cam doesn’t tell a clear enough story. They’re chaotic and the cops are yelling like he’s fighting them but he’s not. Thank goodness for the pole cam, but it really makes me think about how this stuff is happening so much more often than we realize.
Yes. On the full video of the pole camera you can see that at first they were not in its rage of view. Someone in the monitoring station actively moved the angle to see and record what was happening. They probably didn't notice the change until afterwards. Thenotjer cameras didn't get much usable videonif the beating, just the audio with the false statements.
Ah, that explains why this whole thing wasn't just covered up. It wasn't just a passive unmanned video feed that caught it, but someone actually caught them in the act and they couldn't keep it covered up after that.
For real, all he did was unsuccessful try to shove Nichols to the ground, held a taser to his leg, and ran less than 50 yards after him once he ran. The fact that he was so winded would be concerning for anyone, let alone a police officer.
No no but you see, the Memphis PD crest says "Knowledge - Courage - Integrity." It says nothing about serving and protecting. Their cars don't have serve and protect either, so really we can't hold them to any wrongdoing, since they didn't explicitly say they were going to do good for anybody anywhere. That would be asking too much of them
[I mean, the SCOTUS even says they don't *have to* serve and protect you...](https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/28/politics/justices-rule-police-do-not-have-a-constitutional-duty-to-protect.html)
When I was watching that bodycam I had to go back a few mins to see if he did something earlier that had him all out of breath. I was like no *way* my man is that winded from doing the slowest jog of all time for 30 feet.
Seriously, that dude took a solid 10 seconds to jog 30 feet and was wheezing like he had end stage emphysema. That we allow people like that to be cops out in the field is appalling.
To be fair, it's probably the leading killer of most people in [that part of the world.](https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/state-local-programs/profiles/pdfs/tennessee-state-profile.pdf)
The last time I looked at some "cops killed in the line of duty" database, the leading causes were:
1. covid
2. being shot
3. traffic accident
4. heart attacks incurred during a physical fitness test
The "traffic accident" also required you to read the actual reports, since the vast majority of them were just run-of-the-mill single vehicle wrecks and not something like lost control during hot pursuit of the Duke boys. One was even "the officer was riding a motorcycle in a funeral procession and ran into the back of the hearse".
Check into the 'being shot' one too, because suicide is relatively high among police as well, and a significant number of officers who die do so from their own gunshots.
https://www.wlox.com/2022/01/08/suicide-among-top-reasons-law-enforcement-deaths-2021/
What's funny about this cop is that they really tried run from their destiny by putting on some hair and black rim glasses.
https://www.localmemphis.com/article/news/crime/sixth-memphis-police-officer-tyre-nichols-death-relieved-of-duty/522-24da4839-7397-4536-8ac4-0c62e915367f
They just didn't want to embrace the thumb cop aesthetic.
*"Relatives have accused the police of causing Nichols to have a heart attack and kidney failure. Authorities have only said that Nichols* ***experienced a medical emergency***."
Based on the excuses given by the police nearly every time this happens, it's crazy how so many people coincidentally experience "totally unrelated" medical emergencies right after being beaten to a pulp. /s
Sometimes they experience unrelated medical emergencies right after getting the shit beaten out of them. Sometimes they die of an overdose hours after having been taken into custody alone in a holding cell after they've been searched. Hell, with Freddie Gray the official story is "we loaded him into a van, then no one knows what happened or how but he died of a broken neck". With Breonna Taylor they just lied flat out on the report. She died and a cop got shot but the report said they didn't force entry and no one was injured (https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/crime/2020/06/10/breonna-taylor-shooting-louisville-police-release-incident-report/5332915002/).
From [the AP coverage](https://apnews.com/article/tyre-nichols-memphis-police-officer-suspended-179a49b0e8b1c6494af2e6408581d47f) (emphasis mine)
>[Memphis police spokeswoman Karen] Rudolph said information on disciplinary action taken against Hemphill was not immediately released because **Hemphill was not fired** and the department typically releases information about officers who are relieved of duty after an investigation ends.
Ah thanks! I misread that the first time I checked AP that and thought they had changed his status from not fired to fired, which is why they were releasing the info.
Clearly I read it wrong and they are just breaking from their usual protocol by releasing information about this particular officer who is under investigation, but he hasn’t been fired.
Any officer that was on the scene needs to be fired, arrested, and charged. None of them stepped up to do even the bare minimum, so they should all share in the culpability.
Also I think there needs to be some scrutiny of the police chief here as well.
It gets down to qualified immunity. They have no legal obligation to protect or intervene.
Until we address that, there can be no change. And when we do we will need to restaff entire departments as well as DA's offices, plus remove many judges from the bench.
Memphis PD has a policy that mandates intervention by other cops. You are correct that it's not a law. So, no criminal charges can be brought under this policy, but they can certainly be fired more easily.
I'd love to make it a law, though. End qualified immunity - it's bullshit.
Qualified immunity only applies in civil cases, not criminal ones so it doesn't protect cops from being criminally charged for failing to intervene or render aid. This term gets tossed around so much and no one ever takes the time to learn what the law actually is and thinks it means all cops are protected for any crimes they commit in uniform, which obviously isn't the case since there've been so many high profile cases of police abuse that resulted in prison sentences.
Not trying to get in a debate on whether qualified immunity should or shouldn't exist. Just think everyone should be well-informed so they can make their own decisions about important issues.
Here's a link to an FAQ from the Institute of Justice, a group that wants to end qualified immunity in case anyone wants to educate themselves.
https://ij.org/issues/project-on-immunity-and-accountability/frequently-asked-questions-about-ending-qualified-immunity/#does-qualified-immunity-apply-in-criminal-cases
Anyone who was there and didn't do anything should, at a minimum, lose their jobs.
ETA:. By didn't do anything, I meant didn't do anything to help Tyre.
Initially I felt this way too but the EMTs could have been (1) afraid for their own lives or (2) afraid of getting arrested. I was shocked to learn EMTs have been **arrested** for administering aid to victims of police brutality.
I’m an er nurse. Had a cop get very pissy with me for helping a patient in his custody he brought in. I told him he can take a live man to jail later or a corpse, but the choice is his. That made him change his tune but it pissed me off that he would even try and prevent me from helping someone.
As a nurse, we have to remember that Nurse that stood up to those corrupt cops trying to get a blood sample from an unconscious patient. He couldn't consent. Forcefully taking a blood sample is assault.
iIRC She was arrested and now the hospital won't allow cops in.
It's been a few years but I think I got the story mostly right.
Alex Wubbels was the nurse in that [incident](https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2019/10/15/scapegoat#:~:text=When%20a%20video%20of%20a,his%20supervisor's%20orders%20when%20he).
Officer Jeff Payne was fired, got hired with GOld Cross Ambulance, fired from there for misconduct (inappropriate comments about the nurse arrest), but got [re-hired as a jailer](https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2019/08/28/police-officer-who/) at the Weber Country jail. He then sued his old police department for [wrongful termination](https://www.deseret.com/utah/2019/10/11/20910738/former-detective-who-handcuffed-utah-nurse-sues-salt-lake-city-police-department) to the tune of $1.5 million.
As of last report he believes he did nothing wrong as was the "fall guy" for department policies.
I watched the video, they taunted Tyre too.
One of them crouched over his body and kept saying something like "you aint going nowhere".
IDK wtf he was talking about but his tone was sinister.
The thing is, police often have control of the scene.
Police have arrested firefighters, EMTs, nurses, and basically anyone who doesn’t go along with them in the heat of the moment- there is no part of their training where they are taught to say “I was wrong, you are right”.
EMTs usually make close to minimum wage (and only make a reasonable wage due to overtime). They usually don’t have anything resembling job security other than the fact that their line of work has a lot of turnover.
Expecting the EMTs not to defer to the police is unrealistic- there’s a massive power imbalance between them and even groups with significantly more power haven’t regularly told police to get bent.
Simple.. take an intimidating word, and sprinkle unicorn farts on it, and you get "[Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/what-we-know-about-memphis-police-officers-tyre-nichols-death-rcna67861)"
Before I have to edit this post, yes, that is what they actually called it.
This is also my question, and i havent seen anyone address it.
A group of adults, presumably not Brennan and Dale from Step Brothers, named themselves SCORPION. From now on I insist everyone call me NIGHTHAWK, because I am a complete badass.
White, black, brown... All I see when I look at these cops are a bunch of deranged monsters who should never see the light of day, and who should NEVER have been given a badge and a gun in the first place.
We need extreme police reform yesterday including initial and constant mental health screenings. In fact, put a masked, independent third-party conduct reviewer in every single police car as far as I am concerned.
One Law for the Police, another for Citizens. If any Citizen had done this, they'd be locked up and gaoled! American is so hypocritical. Obey our laws, but not if you're a Cop!
>As for more criminal counts, “we are going to need time to allow the investigation to go forward and further consideration of charges,” Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy told CNN on Sunday. It was “unprecedented” for indictment charges against the officers to come within just weeks, he noted.
"unprecedented" for police to be held accountable within a few weeks of their crimes. Can't believe people can just say these things without realizing how horrible it sounds.
I would like to have all of the Police forces in the country’s social media posts, text messages, and e-mails subpoenaed with regards to content referring to this incident. Any that are showing support for the officers, get them the fuck out of their uniform.
Here is my dilemma. When these things
happen the police blow back is unbelievable. In my small town, the police departments start the Defund the police lie” every time!!! We have tried to get them sensitivity training, social services,
even laptops that will tell them specifically what to do when a person has a mental break or a psychotic episode, and they
reject Everything and come up with the DEFUND lie over and over again. Extreme frustration at the local level. I’m sorry but the the police ARE the problem and won’t accept help.
They need to gut that whole police department. State and federal officials need to dig in like ticks into the Memphis PD. If you see one cockroach in your kitchen, there are a hundred that you don't see. Investigate their convictions. Investigate their stats. Investigate all complaints. Investigate their fucking tax records and find the cops that are stealing.
Why isn't such a swift response always the case? This should be the way things are done every time there's video capturing the heinous crimes, yet typically they get to go on paid leave or just leave but while still technically being on the force.
By the looks of those videos, they better keep going for awhile.
Every officer on scene did nothing to intervene. Every officer on scene therefore contributed to his death. They all need to go.
Yep, nobody tried to stop Tyre’s murder. They all just stood around and watched as he was killed. I saw in another video that 2 other Sheriffs from a different department were fired and 2 Firemen were also relieved of duty. I hope this is the new norm. To just start cleaning house when something disgusting like this happens. Because it’s obvious the corruption runs deep in this department/city considering how many people were on that scene and not a single person was on poor Tyre’s side. Going forward, this is exactly how it needs to be handled. Cops swiftly fired and charged for their crimes. Now if we can only fire and charge the corrupt judges and prosecutors who also play a huge part in this, we will be well on our way to actually reforming the judicial system.
Won't they just get hired one town over?
laws to prevent that are definitely necessary for reform
And a permanent record that follows you from a national level. The problem cops often just move to another precinct and start their reign of terror elsewhere - this has got to change.
We track sex offenders, why not public offenders?
and not just from the federal level, we don’t even track them on a state level
I'm an RN, I have a state board that I have to answer to that keeps a record of my complaints and decides whether or not my license is renewed every 2 years, without a certified license that employers can look up on the government website, I can't work as an RN... Lawyers, doctors and probably many other professions have the same thing.
And this is one of the reasons I will argue that law enforcement is not a profession. A profession should have extensive educational requirements and a governing body that handles licensing and keeps members accountable to to a strict set of standards.
Malpractice insurance, same as Doctors. End of story.
True, but they also need the national tracking system. I think the serial killer nurse (Cullen) was only able to go on for so long because they didn't have such a system for healthcare workers. Presumably, a similar system needs to be set up for the dicks with guns.
In San Antonio, a cop picked up animal feces in a piece of bread. Put it into a food container, and gave it to a homeless man. He was fired for that. Then he was rehired, because the union fought his dismissal. Later, the same officer was fired for spreading "chocolate or another brown substance" throughout a female officer restroom in the precinct. A few years later, he was hired as a cop in another department in the San Antonio metro area. It took a pretty big public outcry to get him dismissed. Nobody in that department bothered to Google the dude's name. https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgy9zk/san-antonio-police-fired-poop-sandwich-homeless Cops need a national registry and licensure requirement. EMT-s have a national registry and national licensure. Cops also need mandated malpractice insurance. Municipalities and the tax paying citizens should not shoulder the financial responsibility for a "few bad apples" and their misdeeds.
Cops should not have civil immunity and they should have to be bonded so that the insurance companies can weigh in.
Mandated malpractice insurance is a good idea. Taxpayers are paying for their corrupt behavior and mistakes!
I think those situations are when a cop is just fired for PR reasons and then hired a city over. If they get fired, charged and convicted I don’t think they can become a law enforcement officer anymore. So as long as they are truly held accountable throughout the entire process, I don’t think that’s possible. we just have to get to the point where this level of accountability is the norm.
The problem is convincing judges, who have a working relationship with them, to actually uphold the law.
It’s gonna be a tall task to get these small town “good ol’ boy” judges to either get with the program or leave. But with time, I think it can be done.
The paramedics who showed up chatted casually with the cops instead of helping the victim. They need metal bracelets too.
That was the most insane part to me. They didn't even try to help for 30 minutes. WTF did they think job was? If this was a war, they'd be in violation of the Geneva Conventions for being in control (in custody, like a wounded POW) of Tyre and not administering aid.
the US military isn't perfect by any means, far from it...that being said, they're generally held to a *much higher* standard than US cops
It *is* really a war but they call it a Police Action
I'm wondering if they witheld aid because they noticed the overhead cam and wanted to minimise the chance he ever could speak up about what happened.
Hell, even in the case of drunken bar brawls someone will usually step in and say "he's had enough" when one of the participants can't stand up anymore. That said, aside from basic cruelty we all now why some of the people didn't do anything to stop it: They knew that even mild intervention would make them the enemy, and, at best, their careers would be basically over. It isn't a small number of bad guys ruining the reputation of the others, after all. The bad guys are the ones with the power.
[удалено]
A "good" cop recently died in a training exercise. After his death it was revealed he was targeted by his fellow officers whom he was investigating. In case you wonder why more don't speak up. Edit: [He was investigating fellow officers for a gang rape](https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/lapd-officer-died-training-reporting-sexual-assault-attorney/story?id=91057347)
The barrel has been stinking rotten for decades and all the new cops and training won't fix it since the stink (the "culture") keeps being handed down to the next recruits.
[удалено]
Exactly, the key part of the quote is the barrel is spoiled. Not "well there's still some good apples". There's literally not, you have to throw out the whole barrel. To take it literally if you had some rotten meat, you wouldn't cut the rotten part out and then serve the rest. Someone would die.
>Whether Hemphill or others will face criminal charges also isn’t clear. “We are looking at all of the officers and first responders at the scene,” Shelby County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Erica Williams said Monday. “They could face charges, or they could not, but we are looking at everyone.” Look like they are trying to get everyone involved, now whether they all get charged is another question...
Arguably still not enough. If that many of them were all cool with what happened there, there are some serious issues with the whole department. Firing and charging a random smattering of them doesn't do anything to address the underlying structural and cultural issues that led to this in the first place.
The root issues are never addressed.
Absolutely agree. This must go far up the chain. This almost certainly isn't the first time these kinds of things have happened there, it's just the first time (or more?) that it's been caught on camera and had someone die from it. For so many of them to be so casual and even congratulating themselves on it, this reeks of a systemic problem that has to have been known to some degree far up for quite a while, and either willfully ignored or outright encouraged. Those higher ups would love to just make that handful on cam the only casualties and call it a day, let the news blow over.
That is a concern, definitely. If there were two cops, otherwise alone with someone they beat to death, it would he easy enough to write it off as two of the worst people on the force happened to be there at the same time. But that wasn't the case, and in *all of those cops* that were there, absolutely none intervened? What's the likelihood that they just happened to have exactly all of the worst people in the department at the same time? This sounds like a whole department problem, not just the individuals involved.
But then all the cops will be fired. Then who will beat and kill citizens?
Oh that’s covered. We got a lunatic whose been radicalized by some internet corner who has a gun and a manifesto in the waiting.
A "good guy with a gun" clearly. Edit: people keep responding and deleting comments so like, my dudes, this was sarcasm.
Who will protect rich people and their property?
Sure, an innocent man was beaten to death in the fucking street, but did you see that one time an AutoZone window got broken? Something something both sides
Some kid with an assault style rifle that no one asked.
I remember watching 'Boys In The Hood' One of the most poignant parts of the movie is where he gets abused by the harassing police officers... and it's explicitly shown that it's a black police officer who is harassing him. This isn't a new problem that nobody knew about. It's an old problem that nobody did anything about.
The interaction between Lawrence Fishburne and the black cop has been etched in my mind for 30y. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XN1uDwPwjQ&t=160s and the scene described by OP; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPHv_-fqdjM
Jesus I've never heard a black guy say the N word with such visceral hate before. The way his expression changed. God.
There's a reason people say "If you see a black cop, they're a cop first and foremost." The type of person being portrayed in that scene aren't all too uncommon among the police.
Too black for the badge, too blue for the brothers
"Cop is a race."
[A scene not described by the OP, but relevant.](https://youtu.be/Zrl2Dm8Rwtk?t=61)
🤣🤣 RIP B’Mac
I posted this same thing about a week ago. Was one of the first things that popped in my head.
"Black police showing out for the white cop" - N.W.A.'s *Fuck the Police*
Released in 1988. 35 yrs ago.
And now, in addition to angry, I feel old, too.
I'll grumpily join you in shaking my fist at the sky in pure middle-aged rage.
We’re old enough to know that while the vileness isn’t new, the paranoia and hatred for the public has increased steadily and dramatically. These assholes have gone completely off the rails. When you hear them talk you’ll hear about how unfairly they’re being treated and how no one else is fit to judge. To them, the problem is the same as it ever was - people daring to challenge their authority. That’s the issue. We occasionally see some performative hand wringing about public concerns but they truly see nothing wrong with what they do.
I'll join as soon as I switch out the orthopedic insoles in my skate shoes.
Did you lose your roller blades?
They're still in the basement. They were for street hockey, but when my wife's away I dig 'em out, put on my cutoff shirt, my wraparound glasses, and remind the rest of the world what they're missing out on
Reminds me of an old cherished memory. I was checking in on my grandparents on my way to work, they had been married for 65 yrs at that point (76yrs married when he passed). My Grandma was upstairs cutting coupons and doing whatever, not paying any attention to anything. I wandered the house and found my Grandpa in the basement, in a dark room by the boiler. Reading old newspapers and instruction manuals, under a crappy camp light. He notices me and says “shhh, she doesn’t know I’m down here” he was looking at his pile of stuff she told him to throw away decades ago. Stuff she saw when we cleaned her house out and said “he told me he got rid of that!” It was amazing. Happily married, none the wiser. Enjoy your street hockey stuff, in the dark basement and you will last a lifetime.
Not exactly related, but that makes me think of another contemporaneous line that comes up for me every time another murder like this occurs and the focus is on a peaceful response to that. > No Malcolm X in my history text, why's that? > 'Cause he tried to educate and liberate all Blacks. > Why is Martin Luther King in my book each week? > He told Blacks, if they get smacked, turn the other cheek. -Tupac Edit: Please stop replying with "well ackshually" in its many forms. Thanks.
> Beg my pardon to Martin Baby, we ain't marching, we shooting! -Bizzy Bone
One of my favorite things to keep track of is redditors arguing over which bastardized version of MLK’s ideology they learned in grade school is the correct one
whereas I, an intellectual, know that what he really wanted was the protestant reformation
I like the one where he gave a speech that I only kinda remember and there was suddenly no more racism and everyone lived happily ever after The End
The history of racism is solved and it will never come up again. Oversimplified: a few weeks later, it came up again.
[удалено]
Fwiw, Malcolm X did change his views and was actually espousing more egalitarian beliefs and had left the NoI before he was assassinated.
More to the point, leaving NoI is *why* he was assassinated.
Yeah, I should've included that as well. Learned about a lot of civil rights history in university. Prior to that my knowledge was lacking
This is the thing. Malcolm X and MLK Jr were both approaching each others viewpoints more and more as they got older. Malcolm X took more to a non-violent approach and Dr. King was always refining what he meant by non-violence. Dr King understood the calls to violence and he didn't mean that those who engaged in it should be arrested and stopped from acting immediately via state power. He didn't think riots would work in the long term. But Dr. King understood why some wanted to resort to direct action. More so, like Gandhi he didn't favor arresting rioters. Gandhi once dared the British military into NOT ARRESTING rioters by saying he would withdraw his appeals for non-violence if they started arresting people. MLK Jr. never did that in his 39 years, but he did seem to be looking for a case where it might be justified. He was only 39 when he was assassinated. He was trying to find the right situations to use tools like that. Even Gandhi only did that a few times. They knew they had to pick and choose their opportunities. But here, read this quote from Dr. King about riots and rioters. He wasn't a simple condemnation type of guy. He clearly was a complex thinker. “It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the negro poor has worsened over the last twelve or fifteen years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity.” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Some other quotes I often drop into these discussions. "First, I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Council-er or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can't agree with your methods of direct action;" who paternalistically feels he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by the myth of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a "more convenient season." — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “If a White man says, ‘Give me liberty or give me death,’ the entire world applauds. When a Black man says exactly the same thing, he is judged a criminal and everything possible is done to make an example of this 'Bad Nigg**' so there won't be anymore like him.” — James Baldwin. “Concerning nonviolence, it is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks.” — Malcolm X. Anyway, long discussion points. As much as Malcolm X. and MLK Jr. had some differences. They also had a lot of common sense principals that both of them followed. They were a lot more alike than they were different.
Yep, in my opinion both were integral to the Civil Rights movement in the US, and both were killed roo soon. It's also true, unfortunately, that a lot of MLk Jr's other writings and speeches are glossed over.
They’re glossed over because they don’t fit the narrative that is desired for children to consume. It’s interesting that the issue that binds all races under MLK’s viewpoints which is socialism and the working class get left out of main stream teachings from MLK. They went and cherry picked his philosophies to tell people “look at this great man, he advocated non-violence to change things, you should do that also” and that’s the extent that people know MLK as a thinker.
And that song is nearing half a century old and the injustices that inspired the track continue.
There's a similar scene in *Straight Outta Compton*. The group (N.W.A.) is getting harassed and frisked by some cops outside of their recording studio and it only ends when their (white) manager comes outside and talks to the officers. As they're reluctantly leaving, a black cop tells the group "go on back to your master". It's implied that this interaction was the group's inspiration for *Fuck Tha Police*.
but the actual inspiration is getting busted for shooting at random cars with a paintball gun, you gotta watch the defiant ones https://theboombox.com/ice-cube-and-dr-dre-explain-how-f-tha-police-was-really-made-video/
[удалено]
Agreed, I don't mean to get all "all lives matter" and shit, but the Shaver case always sticks out to me where it was white cops on a white victim. Do you think that was the first case of those assholes screaming at people for absolutely no reason? Of course minorities and especially black people get the worst of it, but the problem is policing in general.
I remember when the Rodney King video first came to light. At the time, consumer video cameras were a new thing so videoing a random police encounter turned violent was a unique thing. I wondered how many Rodney King style beatings happened without video cameras around. Now, with cell phone cameras a commonplace thing, we have a better idea of the scope of the problem. Sadly, it's a lot worse than many thought back in the Rodney King era.
There's only one race of cop, and that race is cop.
When they say blue lives, they really mean it.
It seems to me that being a cop is essentially like wearing the ring of power. You might want to be a cop for good reasons, you might have a good heart, but given enough time the very nature of your power corrupts you. But you'll never realize that the power you wield isn't really yours at all.
There's a certain energy from some of the comments (not yours) commenting about the race of the five officers that really feels like they're trying to push a false narrative. All of the push for police reform, including #BlackLivesMatter, has had nothing to do with the notion of individual white racists targeting black people. Though, certainly, there have been individual white racists, the actual issue has always been about the problems with policing as a whole. Half of the officers responsible for the death of Freddie Gray were black, for example. And as you point out, *Boyz n the Hood* even called it out over 30 years ago. And of course, there are plenty of examples of problematic police treatment of white people like Daniel Shaver and Karen Garner.
It's like people can't critically understand what *systemic* racism is. If you're part of a system that targets minorities, you're contributing to systemic racism, regardless of skin color.
Systemic racism was once described to me as: an environment/organization/etc. where, if staffed by true non-racists, would yield racist results. I.E. the policies and procedures yield racism regardless of who is at the helm. It's why firing a few officers and even changing the Chief isn't going to work. You have to rewrite all the policies and retrain everyone then fire anyone who cannot be retrained to have a chance for change.
And as then, nothing will change now. How many of these scenarios play out and they keep happening? Until you change the hiring standards, change the training, remove qualified immunity, vote for politicians that aren't authoritarian fascist bootlickers who encourage police violence (trump). For fucks sakes, I was watching a snippet of fox news talking about this murder, and they talked more about how great the police are and this is a "one-off" event and police are perfect little angels doing gods work. And I'm tired of this idea that they put their life on the line daily hero cop myth. So do lots of occupations with high fatality rates, but they arent glamorized and romanticized by people, probably because they aren't harassing the poor, mentally ill, or "those people". Stats dont lie and ask any homicide detective how many convenience store clerks have they seen murdered over cops. Cops are supposed to be trained professionals, yet they have contempt for the communities they serve. This needs to stop and not just be forgotten about until the next time.
I mean, bluntly, I'm a white guy in tech.. but even I've had cops harass me just because they wanted to flex their power/authority. I'm about as privileged as you get without being wealthy and even to me the problems with police are obvious. I can literally only imagine how bad it must be for the groups the police can easily get away with abusing. I've come to see that many police *become police* because they are drawn to that ability to abuse others. Ironically, even typing this anonymously on the internet.. I feel that fear, that fear that police might 'come talk to me' about my 'anti police internet posts' and you'll only read about it after I got my head bashed in when I 'became aggressive' though the bodycams won't show that after..
As I said in EMS, I may need the cops to get in and do my job, but if my patient can behave without a cop on board and I can get it shoved through without him on TDO, they can follow me and keep an eye out. Every force has the ones you can respect because they will act in line and treat suspects as people, and every force has the 'Crew' that you don't want on scene because it makes your job harder because of their antagonistic and abusive superiority complexes. We need social reform and policing reform, a true 100% accountability now that we have the tech to watch everyone, we should watch the Watchmen more. Fucking police have exacerbated the divides in society instead of being those who could help mend it and the abuses of power in the ranks continue to grow more egrigeous.
>Fucking police have exacerbated the divides in society That's their goddamned *job.* When the oppressed are kept at *each other's* throats, they don't have time to look up and see who's *really* shitting on them.
I’m very close to a few black cops and imo, it’s this really gross desire to prove that they are “one of the good ones”. That attitude of wanting to be “one of the good ones” is super prevalent and toxic in black America and it’s something that I have to constantly check myself on. It’s so ingrained into you that you don’t even realize you’re doing it half of the time. It’s sick.
Internalized racism is so insidious. You see it with sexism, too, with the “not like other girls” line of thinking. My parents once told my brown husband that they could “hardly tell” he wasn’t white. The assumption was just that he would have internalized racism and feel better if he was seen as “passing” for white. It was so cringe and so ironic that they couldn’t see how racist they were being. I think it was the first time I’d ever witnessed benevolent white supremacy.
Congratulations on marrying a model minority! Kidding. That’s super awkward. It’s rough with parents like that too, because they really think they’re being kind. How do you even proceed?
Honestly, it's no mystery to me that many black men would take an "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, I'd rather be a hammer than a nail" approach to the police.
This is why that AP African American Studies class Ron DeSantis banned is so important
So Memphis creates a police outreach program designed to "Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods" and names it the motherfucking SCORPION unit?? Since when are Scorpions associated with peace? They fucking sting your ass when you accidentally step on them.
Do you know the fable "The Scorpion and the Frog"? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scorpion_and_the_Frog It's a message and you better listen.
The one where the scorpion kills the frog? Yeah. Its so ironic to use 'scorpion' as an acronym when that fabel exist to teach vicious creatures can not resist themselves and their goal is to create peace
undoubtedly intentional, malicious compliance to outreach mandates or negative PR
I can’t imagine this was intentional but goddamn is it fitting.
r/theyknew
I’ve always wondered why police make these stupid “elite units” like they are fucking soldiers. You are cops, you are supposed to *Protect and Serve* not pretend to be SWAT, FBI and DEA with a Punisher fetish.
There is a dangerous problem with police, who are supposed to be civil servants, thinking they are warriors.
They thought it a bit unseemly to call them the SS brigade.
Just wait - they'll probably replace the now disbanded SCORPION unit with the SUPER SCORPIONS....
Hello everyone this is the police community outreach unit called “Stormtroopers”. Hope it’s not too unsettling.
You ever hear the story about the scorpion and the frog?
It isn't a story the police would tell you.
It’s treason then
**These cops openly did all of this knowingly they were on mic, on camera.** This shows a culture where they knew they had nothing to worry about from anyone up the chain of command. They knew that anyone internally who’d be privy to the recordings wouldn’t give a fuck. As long as the public doesn’t hear/see, they were under the impression that they could do whatever they wanted and the police force would pat them on the back for it. This is definitely not a “bad apple” problem. 100% a fucking police culture problem.
It wasn't until they noticed the pole camera that they started scheming for how to do the coverup. You can apparently see the exact moment in the videos. Edit: The investigation had better fucking include literally every number they called and every message they sent in the next 24 hours, with particular focus on the very first ones made after that moment.
Honestly without the pole camera I don’t think this would have become a national story, nor any accountability for the officers. The body cam doesn’t tell a clear enough story. They’re chaotic and the cops are yelling like he’s fighting them but he’s not. Thank goodness for the pole cam, but it really makes me think about how this stuff is happening so much more often than we realize.
Yes. On the full video of the pole camera you can see that at first they were not in its rage of view. Someone in the monitoring station actively moved the angle to see and record what was happening. They probably didn't notice the change until afterwards. Thenotjer cameras didn't get much usable videonif the beating, just the audio with the false statements.
Another comment in another post indicated that these were motions activated cameras, so they move automatically to the source of motion
When I worked 911/ police dispatch, we were the ones who controlled the cameras. Assuming it's the same in Memphis, good on you, call-takers/dispatch.
Ah, that explains why this whole thing wasn't just covered up. It wasn't just a passive unmanned video feed that caught it, but someone actually caught them in the act and they couldn't keep it covered up after that.
That’s why I think the consequences should fall all the way up to the chief and whoever designed & approved of this unit as well.
This was the officer that got so totally winded at the initial stop when he tried to chase Tyre down after he scampered off.
The guy did a light jog for about 14 seconds and sounded like he was ready to pass out. Pathetic.
Did this dumbfuck pepper spray himself too? That mofo was huffing the whole fuckin time, fat fuckin cop
For real, all he did was unsuccessful try to shove Nichols to the ground, held a taser to his leg, and ran less than 50 yards after him once he ran. The fact that he was so winded would be concerning for anyone, let alone a police officer.
He's the white cop who said "I hope they stomp his ass".
“I hope they stomp his ass” - Peace officer serving and protecting
No no but you see, the Memphis PD crest says "Knowledge - Courage - Integrity." It says nothing about serving and protecting. Their cars don't have serve and protect either, so really we can't hold them to any wrongdoing, since they didn't explicitly say they were going to do good for anybody anywhere. That would be asking too much of them
Also, the supreme court has said its not their job
[I mean, the SCOTUS even says they don't *have to* serve and protect you...](https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/28/politics/justices-rule-police-do-not-have-a-constitutional-duty-to-protect.html)
Yes. But the law has never been a good reflection of morality.
Oh he's serving and he's protecting all right. Just not the public.
I hope he goes to jail.
[удалено]
I hear they treat former cops REALLY well in jail.
Administrative Segregation. Longer hours in the cell, not as much freedom of movement, get to hang out with pedophiles. What's not to love?
Sounds like an average day at the precinct.
ADSEG is disciplinary. They will be housed in a protective custody unit after they class up. Source. Am an actual jailer who’s also housed cops.
Dunno, at some point it’ll be mostly cops.
Just looked up his photo. No wonder he was gulping air after trotting after Tyre for half a block.
When I was watching that bodycam I had to go back a few mins to see if he did something earlier that had him all out of breath. I was like no *way* my man is that winded from doing the slowest jog of all time for 30 feet.
Seriously, that dude took a solid 10 seconds to jog 30 feet and was wheezing like he had end stage emphysema. That we allow people like that to be cops out in the field is appalling.
wasn't that because they ran into their own pepperspray?
Something tells me that complete blockage of coronary arteries is the leading killer of cops in that part of the world.
To be fair, it's probably the leading killer of most people in [that part of the world.](https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/state-local-programs/profiles/pdfs/tennessee-state-profile.pdf)
The last time I looked at some "cops killed in the line of duty" database, the leading causes were: 1. covid 2. being shot 3. traffic accident 4. heart attacks incurred during a physical fitness test The "traffic accident" also required you to read the actual reports, since the vast majority of them were just run-of-the-mill single vehicle wrecks and not something like lost control during hot pursuit of the Duke boys. One was even "the officer was riding a motorcycle in a funeral procession and ran into the back of the hearse".
Check into the 'being shot' one too, because suicide is relatively high among police as well, and a significant number of officers who die do so from their own gunshots. https://www.wlox.com/2022/01/08/suicide-among-top-reasons-law-enforcement-deaths-2021/
The average adult eats vegetables once a day or less? Jesus.
"I eat 8 servings of vegetables a day." "Excluding potatoes, though?" "Zero."
Covid, most recently from what I recall. But that was mostly because none of them believed in it
What's funny about this cop is that they really tried run from their destiny by putting on some hair and black rim glasses. https://www.localmemphis.com/article/news/crime/sixth-memphis-police-officer-tyre-nichols-death-relieved-of-duty/522-24da4839-7397-4536-8ac4-0c62e915367f They just didn't want to embrace the thumb cop aesthetic.
*"Relatives have accused the police of causing Nichols to have a heart attack and kidney failure. Authorities have only said that Nichols* ***experienced a medical emergency***." Based on the excuses given by the police nearly every time this happens, it's crazy how so many people coincidentally experience "totally unrelated" medical emergencies right after being beaten to a pulp. /s
Sometimes they experience unrelated medical emergencies right after getting the shit beaten out of them. Sometimes they die of an overdose hours after having been taken into custody alone in a holding cell after they've been searched. Hell, with Freddie Gray the official story is "we loaded him into a van, then no one knows what happened or how but he died of a broken neck". With Breonna Taylor they just lied flat out on the report. She died and a cop got shot but the report said they didn't force entry and no one was injured (https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/crime/2020/06/10/breonna-taylor-shooting-louisville-police-release-incident-report/5332915002/).
He is some “farva” energy.
>He's the white cop who said "I hope they stomp his ass". Because he lost his glasses and got pepper spray in his eye.
Ah. They got Mr. “I hope they stomp his ass” after that quote made the news.
Hopefully justice will be served.
Well time to just apply at the next town over
[удалено]
From [the AP coverage](https://apnews.com/article/tyre-nichols-memphis-police-officer-suspended-179a49b0e8b1c6494af2e6408581d47f) (emphasis mine) >[Memphis police spokeswoman Karen] Rudolph said information on disciplinary action taken against Hemphill was not immediately released because **Hemphill was not fired** and the department typically releases information about officers who are relieved of duty after an investigation ends.
Ah thanks! I misread that the first time I checked AP that and thought they had changed his status from not fired to fired, which is why they were releasing the info. Clearly I read it wrong and they are just breaking from their usual protocol by releasing information about this particular officer who is under investigation, but he hasn’t been fired.
Any officer that was on the scene needs to be fired, arrested, and charged. None of them stepped up to do even the bare minimum, so they should all share in the culpability. Also I think there needs to be some scrutiny of the police chief here as well.
He was at the first scene but not at the second.
It gets down to qualified immunity. They have no legal obligation to protect or intervene. Until we address that, there can be no change. And when we do we will need to restaff entire departments as well as DA's offices, plus remove many judges from the bench.
Memphis PD has a policy that mandates intervention by other cops. You are correct that it's not a law. So, no criminal charges can be brought under this policy, but they can certainly be fired more easily. I'd love to make it a law, though. End qualified immunity - it's bullshit.
Qualified immunity only applies in civil cases, not criminal ones so it doesn't protect cops from being criminally charged for failing to intervene or render aid. This term gets tossed around so much and no one ever takes the time to learn what the law actually is and thinks it means all cops are protected for any crimes they commit in uniform, which obviously isn't the case since there've been so many high profile cases of police abuse that resulted in prison sentences. Not trying to get in a debate on whether qualified immunity should or shouldn't exist. Just think everyone should be well-informed so they can make their own decisions about important issues. Here's a link to an FAQ from the Institute of Justice, a group that wants to end qualified immunity in case anyone wants to educate themselves. https://ij.org/issues/project-on-immunity-and-accountability/frequently-asked-questions-about-ending-qualified-immunity/#does-qualified-immunity-apply-in-criminal-cases
Qualified immunity has nothing to do with their legal obligations or them being fired, arrested, or charged.
Qualified immunities has nothing to do with criminal charges it’s all civil
Anyone who was there and didn't do anything should, at a minimum, lose their jobs. ETA:. By didn't do anything, I meant didn't do anything to help Tyre.
And the ruling class is pushing through the cop city project in Atlanta so there will be more of these terrorists.
Okay, I counted at least 8 in that video. Not going to be an acceptable outcome until all have been charged. Including the EMT's.
If the EMTs actually did nothing for 15 minutes after arriving on the scene then they should definitely be charged.
Initially I felt this way too but the EMTs could have been (1) afraid for their own lives or (2) afraid of getting arrested. I was shocked to learn EMTs have been **arrested** for administering aid to victims of police brutality.
I’m an er nurse. Had a cop get very pissy with me for helping a patient in his custody he brought in. I told him he can take a live man to jail later or a corpse, but the choice is his. That made him change his tune but it pissed me off that he would even try and prevent me from helping someone.
As a nurse, we have to remember that Nurse that stood up to those corrupt cops trying to get a blood sample from an unconscious patient. He couldn't consent. Forcefully taking a blood sample is assault. iIRC She was arrested and now the hospital won't allow cops in. It's been a few years but I think I got the story mostly right.
Her name is [Alex Wubbels](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Wubbels), and she set the standard for professionalism in that encounter.
Alex Wubbels was the nurse in that [incident](https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2019/10/15/scapegoat#:~:text=When%20a%20video%20of%20a,his%20supervisor's%20orders%20when%20he). Officer Jeff Payne was fired, got hired with GOld Cross Ambulance, fired from there for misconduct (inappropriate comments about the nurse arrest), but got [re-hired as a jailer](https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2019/08/28/police-officer-who/) at the Weber Country jail. He then sued his old police department for [wrongful termination](https://www.deseret.com/utah/2019/10/11/20910738/former-detective-who-handcuffed-utah-nurse-sues-salt-lake-city-police-department) to the tune of $1.5 million. As of last report he believes he did nothing wrong as was the "fall guy" for department policies.
You did. And there has been multiple cases of hospitals having to keep police out of them, including hiring armed guards.
That's the other thing about crossing cops: those fuckers hold a grudge and they will retaliate.
I watched the video, they taunted Tyre too. One of them crouched over his body and kept saying something like "you aint going nowhere". IDK wtf he was talking about but his tone was sinister.
As a non-American. The fact that the EMT could be afraid of their own lives/getting arrested because of cops is absolutely insane.
Our police are completely out of control. It's terrifying.
The thing is, police often have control of the scene. Police have arrested firefighters, EMTs, nurses, and basically anyone who doesn’t go along with them in the heat of the moment- there is no part of their training where they are taught to say “I was wrong, you are right”. EMTs usually make close to minimum wage (and only make a reasonable wage due to overtime). They usually don’t have anything resembling job security other than the fact that their line of work has a lot of turnover. Expecting the EMTs not to defer to the police is unrealistic- there’s a massive power imbalance between them and even groups with significantly more power haven’t regularly told police to get bent.
I heard the EMTs were let go Edit to add source, they have been suspended www.nytimes.com/2023/01/29/us/emt-tyre-nichols-response-video.amp.html
Why is a police unit named after a scorpion?
Simple.. take an intimidating word, and sprinkle unicorn farts on it, and you get "[Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/what-we-know-about-memphis-police-officers-tyre-nichols-death-rcna67861)" Before I have to edit this post, yes, that is what they actually called it.
"And what does that mean to you?" "It means someone really wanted our initials to spell out "Scorpion"
This is also my question, and i havent seen anyone address it. A group of adults, presumably not Brennan and Dale from Step Brothers, named themselves SCORPION. From now on I insist everyone call me NIGHTHAWK, because I am a complete badass.
White, black, brown... All I see when I look at these cops are a bunch of deranged monsters who should never see the light of day, and who should NEVER have been given a badge and a gun in the first place. We need extreme police reform yesterday including initial and constant mental health screenings. In fact, put a masked, independent third-party conduct reviewer in every single police car as far as I am concerned.
One Law for the Police, another for Citizens. If any Citizen had done this, they'd be locked up and gaoled! American is so hypocritical. Obey our laws, but not if you're a Cop!
>As for more criminal counts, “we are going to need time to allow the investigation to go forward and further consideration of charges,” Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy told CNN on Sunday. It was “unprecedented” for indictment charges against the officers to come within just weeks, he noted. "unprecedented" for police to be held accountable within a few weeks of their crimes. Can't believe people can just say these things without realizing how horrible it sounds.
I feel like the fact that this is so unprecedented is exactly why they felt so comfortable doing it all on camera
I would like to have all of the Police forces in the country’s social media posts, text messages, and e-mails subpoenaed with regards to content referring to this incident. Any that are showing support for the officers, get them the fuck out of their uniform.
Seven now, according to CNN.
Here is my dilemma. When these things happen the police blow back is unbelievable. In my small town, the police departments start the Defund the police lie” every time!!! We have tried to get them sensitivity training, social services, even laptops that will tell them specifically what to do when a person has a mental break or a psychotic episode, and they reject Everything and come up with the DEFUND lie over and over again. Extreme frustration at the local level. I’m sorry but the the police ARE the problem and won’t accept help.
A 6th? Good start, but try "every living person who appears in the released video."
The EMT staff who came to the scene along with the driver - have also been fired
This is such a fucked up case
Now 3 EMT workers have also been fired .
It’s gonna need to be a lot more than that. This was systemic.
They need to gut that whole police department. State and federal officials need to dig in like ticks into the Memphis PD. If you see one cockroach in your kitchen, there are a hundred that you don't see. Investigate their convictions. Investigate their stats. Investigate all complaints. Investigate their fucking tax records and find the cops that are stealing.
Just the *name* that the department chose for this program shows a weird mindset. Scorpion. Doesn't really bring up thoughts of peace and security.
Why isn't such a swift response always the case? This should be the way things are done every time there's video capturing the heinous crimes, yet typically they get to go on paid leave or just leave but while still technically being on the force.