The lack of racist symbolism in the Tire Nichols case may have contributed to the fact that the protests remained peaceful, writes ‘s U.S. reporter Juri von Bonsdorff.
WASHINGTON Friday afternoon was full of ominous excitement.
The news channels were non-stop forging the soon-to-be-released video of five policemen beating a 29-year-old by Tire Nichols to the spirit hive and through the hospital to the grave.
Those who saw the video warned in advance of the African-American it resembled Rodney King from a notorious assault thirty years ago. The brutal use of force by white police officers led to riots in Los Angeles that claimed the lives of dozens of people.
Now on television, the merchants said they were protecting their display windows, and on social media, information about the starting times of the protests spread. President Joe Biden appealed to the nation and asked people to remain calm.
of George Floyd the summer after the murder was fresh in everyone’s memory.
– Nothing will happen because the police officers who beat Nichols were black, my African-American colleague said unexpectedly.
– It shouldn’t matter, but it just is. You will see it.
My friend was right. The demonstrations remained small and largely peaceful. Was he right about the reason? That’s a trickier question.
The police charges could calm the situation
It is clear that white police violence against a black man contains symbolism that brings back memories of centuries of racism and oppression. Then rage and despair are always on the surface.
That symbolism is missing from the Tire Nichols case.
But the situation could also have a calming effect on the fact that the police were quickly charged with murder.
They came so quickly, in fact, that black civil rights activists were publicly baffled.
When white police officers commit police violence, the release of videos, possible impeachments, dismissals and criminal charges often come much more laboriously and slowly, if ever.
Also, the strong appeal of Tire Nichols’ parents that people should avoid violence and rioting may have cooled the feelings.
As the riots died down, the conversation on Saturday was able to focus on the main issue – how a routine traffic stop of a young and unarmed black man once again led to a needless death.
The Memphis police special unit was shelved
The officers accused of the killing were all members of a new special unit called Scorpion, whose mission has been to suppress the growing crime in Memphis.
According to the city’s police chief, except for the case of Tire Nichols, they have done a good job. According to the authorities, in the first year the unit made a couple of thousand arrests and around 800 weapons were confiscated. The growth of crime was stopped. Now the group is shelved.
Local civil rights activists have a different perception of the group’s activities. Attorney for the Tire Nichols family Ben Crump said yesterday that many residents have accused the group of using excessive force.
“Tyre Nichols was killed by the prevailing police practices,” Crump said at a press conference on Friday evening.
The police’s methods of operation and use of force made headlines widely in 2020, when George Floyd was killed during an arrest in Minneapolis.
Since then, dozens of states have changed their laws or guidelines on police use of force. The goal has been, for example, to oblige the police to intervene in the situation if the use of force by an official is getting out of hand.
It is certainly too early to assess how the reforms have affected the problem in general.
What is certain is that the events in Memphis will revive the discussion again.
Tire Nichols and his family are no longer helped.