Tyre Nichols was a victim of extreme police brutality in Memphis during an incident that occurred Jan. 7, 2023, when he was murdered by five black police officers.
This story is significant because of the ongoing narrative whites are the only perpetrators of police violence towards minorities. The Nichols incident changes that narrative.
To elaborate, I woke up to a text a couple of months before the Nichols incident from my white female friend about a video of a police brutality incident in Grand Rapids, Mich. Police officers stopped five unarmed black minors at gunpoint because they matched the clothing description of criminal suspects. The mother of one of the mistaken suspects hysterically pleaded for her child during the incident.
I told my white female friend how the cops racially profiled the youths, while also questioning why she sent me the video. I later learned it was for research purposes for an academic paper on diversity and differences between races. My friend then commented white people should not be cops, which triggered me because her remark stereotypes an entire profession, similar to judgments white people have made about blacks throughout American history.
The problem with the racial awakening in America among non-minorities is white people think they are the problem. They are not the problem. The problem is American culture. The media drives the culture in small ways that become larger over time.
For example, the press keeps reiterating white cops are the ones behind police brutality incidents. People at-large believe only white police officers are the problem, just like my friend.
Articles from Talon Marks, The Bottom Line UCSB and The New York Times agree with this idea. They reference how the “All Cops Are Bad” slogan is valid and should be the focus of the national conversation about law enforcement’s treatment of minorities.
It follows that this has become a stereotype of white cops as national media outlets have televised police brutality incidents as such as the following:
- Derek Chauvin, a white man, knelt on George Floyd’s neck until he suffocated to death in 2020.
- Kim Potter, a white woman, shot Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in 2021.
- Daniel Pantaleo, a white man, choked Eric Garner to death in 2014 for selling untaxed cigarettes.
- Darren Wilson, a white man, shot Michael Brown in 2014.
There has been no portrayal of black cops killing their own in the mainstream media, which has created a confirmation bias of white cops being the sole perpetrators of police brutality. That is until the Tyre Nichols incident.
This phenomenon prompts me to describe another problem. Why has there been no mainstream reporting about non-white police officers murdering a non-white civilian? I have a strong sense of disbelief in this supposed reality. Is it just not mainstream? Are media outlets not exposing these incidents? Have we overlooked them?
Tyre Nichols was stopped at a traffic light — pulled over for reckless driving — and eventually fled the scene. Memphis police officers followed and subsequently had three physical confrontations with Nichols.
During the assault, Nichols complained about shortness of breath. He was taken to the hospital and died three days later due to excessive bleeding caused by the severe beatings.
The five black officers involved in the altercation were charged with murder by Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy. An ongoing investigation has resulted in additional officers being relieved of their duties and accused of participating in the crime.
I have yet to talk with my friend about the Nichols incident, but I believe it will allow for a different type of racial awakening where she and others will realize it is institutional culture that is the primary cause for such brutality.
Now we have evidence it is not just white cops that brutalize minorities; it’s minority cops too. The obvious solution starts with changing how we hire and train police officers. I have described new methods of police training in a previous article where I give my opinion on the “Stop Cop City” movement in Atlanta.
The Department of Justice describes a number of recommended police recruitment and hiring practices for local and state law enforcement. Engaging the community, demonstrating fairness of practices and deploying personnel based on workload goals stand out. These reforms would create transparency in law enforcement which could have prevented the Nichols incident, specifically, where multiple officers were involved.
Still, it is more complicated than that. There has to be a collaboration of lawmakers and other high-status officials of different social representations about how to decrease police brutality incidents.
What do I mean by social representations?
I mean individuals who identify as black, white, Asian, Hispanic or any other race. Different social representations in the decision-making process of pubic policies is crucial because they bring different viewpoints about what should be prioritized in their own communities. All races need to come together for one common goal: safety. But it isn’t easy to achieve that goal because of the popular narratives and stereotypes of racial groups.
Whites have most positive narrative because of the reality that their quality of life is better, on average, than any other group, and the financial and educational advantages they generally hold.
For example, most black people come from poorer and harsher living conditions than whites, areas commonly called “the hood” or “the ghetto.”
The term “ghetto” originated in 16th century Europe in reference to segregated Jewish neighborhoods. It was later popularized in the early 1900s and during World War II to mean an urban slum area. The term “hood”, which started in black American culture, is just a new way of saying “ghetto”.
It’s these terms that create an atmosphere of “difference” from the majority. We inhabit our own areas that have been historically riddled with poverty, drugs and crime, so the majority doesn’t want to “welcome us with open arms.”
Racial economic disparities in America relate to “white privilege” in America — the notion white people have access to resources non-white people don’t have, both socially and economically. Every time there has been any degree of injustice done to a minority group, black people can’t help but think white-run institutions are oppressing us.
Yes, the officers were black, but they are employed by a white-controlled institution. American University and Learning for Justice agrees and advocates for people to educate themselves about it.
Some common causes of police brutality towards black people are over-militarization and economic and political incentives. This is a result of underprivileged black living conditions where some have to break the law — selling drugs, for example — to provide for their families. The frequency of criminal activity in these neighborhoods often-times leads to police hyper-vigilance, and relations between law enforcement and its residents suffer.
Now, how do we combat this?
There needs to be more positive images of different racial groups. No one is bad or good strictly based on their skin color. People are complex. Fixing these issues will take time. Tupac Shakur constructed the acronym “THUG LIFE”: “The hate you give little infant f***s everyone.”
In other words, if the media portrays negative images of our children based on race, others will learn to hate based on that portrayal. People grow up to be adults and teach their children to hate. It creates a generational cycle which will only be broken when we as a society look beyond these images and see the humanity that exists inside all of us.
To tie it back to my friend, I imagine she was as distraught as I was when I heard the news of the Tyre Nichols incident. She may have had an epiphany about how there’s no one answer. The answer is as complex as a Rubik’s cube. I hope she realizes we must give each other grace and claim responsibility to make an effort to change the institutions of America.
Featured image: Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash
Edited by: James Sutton
Editor’s note: The 12th paragraph of this article has been edited post-publication.
