The number of first responders who
participated in the savage beatdown of Tyre
Nichols is growing. Five cops and three
Memphis FD personnel have been fired; two
cops were suspended pending further
investigation. The disgusting incident is
vivid proof that the racist institution of
policing is still tone death to the cries of
communities for justice.
Tyre Nichols suffered his deadly
encounter with Memphis police under the
guise of a traffic stop. He died three days
later without ever gaining consciousness. He
had to know at some point during the vicious
attack that he wasn’t going to make it. I
didn’t need to watch the video to know what
happened; the image of a barely recognizable
Nichols lying in a hospital bed was enough.
The police terrorism is getting
more brazen. Police unions and associations
are growing more hostile and resistant to
change. They are doubling down and passing
laws in red states that give them even more
protection from justice-seeking voters.
In Missouri, legislation has been
introduced to give local control of the St.
Louis Police Department back to the
governor. A 20-year community struggle
reversed the authority in 2015 that had been
in place since the Civil War. Also before
the Republican-dominated general assembly is
a bill that basically allows the governor to
appoint a prosecutor when white folks don’t
feel safe in the city. Now that the voters
have elected two African American females
with reform agendas as mayor and prosecutor,
the racist white power structure is changing
the rules of engagement.
I’m urging a different kind of
strategy on the way to abolition. We ought
to be wary of mass mobilizations that don’t
give us the justice we so desperately
deserve. We need to employ “A.N.D.” tactic
as part of our strategy to hold police
accountable for their violent behavior
towards our communities. A.N.D. means Add a
Necessary Demand. Necessary Demands must be
specific and measurable.
Protesting, praying and politicking
are natural responses but are insufficient
to bring this beast to its knees. It would
be protesting AND. Praying AND. Politicking
AND.
For
example,
getting a cop or two fired is a first step
but typically if the people in blue are not
indicted and convicted on
criminal charges, they are allowed to go to
other police departments or just change
careers. Indictments are easy enough to get
these days from a prosecutor under pressure.
That’s because they know if they bring a
half-ass case, jurors will have to acquit.
Prosecutors then tell an angry public their
office did its job and they can still
maintain the cozy relationship with law
enforcement. So, AND would be fighting for a
conviction and sentencing, not stopping at
firing or indicting. How many times have we
prematurely rejoiced at indictments of
killer cops, only to see them walk out the
courtroom free men and women!
Rogue cops need to also feel some
pain in their pockets. When suspended
pending investigations, it should be without
pay. If they get re-instated, so does their
pay. We need to shift the financial burden
of civil lawsuits to individual cops.
Multimillion-dollar payouts mean nothing to
them. The money doesn’t come out of their
pockets. It’s time that it does.
In
a
city where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was
assassinated nearly fifty-five years ago,
I’m hoping the Memphis community will be
inspired to honor his legacy by fighting for
a judicial system that is just and humane -
one that won’t take another Tyre’s life.
