
<p>Having a wonderful son the same age as Tyre Nichols, I can only imagine the pain of his mother and father. ; Like my own son, Tyre seems to have been a wonderful guy … full of life … and admired by all who knew him. ; His loss – in and off itself—is a tragedy. ; How he lost his life compounds the magnitude of the tragedy. ;</p>



<p>The circumstance of his death has all the elements of Greek tragedy. ; I have been following the case closely and there are so many facets to embrace.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Tyre’s Death Versus the Floyd Case</strong></h2>



<p>First and foremost are the circumstances of his death. ; They are not entirely comparable to the George Floyd case, as many anti-police activists would have us believe. In fact, of the millions of arrests – and thousands of deaths by police – both cases are relatively rare. ; ;</p>



<p>The Floyd murder involved three police officers – two white and one person-of-color (Asian) as they are now known. ; One was the active killer and the other two guilty of not interceding, ; ;</p>



<p>The Nichols killing (yet to be officially a murder) was at the hands of five police officers – all black – and there were other officers and paramedics on the scene – perhaps ten or more. ; Five burly officers pounding on a 150-pound unarmed young man is not an even match. ; It seems that they were preferring to beat Nichols rather the subdue him. ; They were attacking Nichols in a manner that was clearly illegal and a violation of basic police training.</p>



<p>The other similarity in the cases was the capture of the action by video recordings – from cell phones in the case of Floyd to body cams and surveillance cams in the case of Nichols. ; In the Floyd case, the video evidence was not as compelling on its own. ; It had to be supported by witnesses and an autopsy. ; In the Nichols case, the police violence was obvious, shocking, and graphic. ; What caused Nichols’ death was much more obvious to the viewer.</p>



<p>The other obvious distinction between the Floyd and Nichols cases is that there was no case for racism. ; The Floyd case had many claiming racism, but that was never officially established as a motivation. ; No matter. ; Those invested in spreading racist narratives seized on the case. ; ;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Who Were These</strong> Cops?</h2>



<p>Because of the number of police involved – and the fact that they were all from a special unit called SCORPION (Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods) – there is a question of training and culture. ; That unit has been disbanded.</p>



<p>We still need to know what triggered this group violence. ; On the video, the police looked more like a gang of thugs than police engaging in a traffic stop. ; Why were there so many police involved in a traffic stop? ; Why did they approach Nichols so aggressively at the onset – rather than just asking to see his license and issue a ticket, if appropriate? ; </p>



<p>Why didn’t other officers intercede? Why didn’t the paramedics respond quicker? ; All this will be flushed out in the courts – but it does not look good for those on the scene, whether they are charged with crimes or not.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Swift Justice … and the Police Chief</strong></h2>



<p>If there is any part of this event that should assuage public concern, it is the official response. ; The officers involved were quickly arrested and charged with second-degree murder – among other things. ; The arrests and charges came swiftly. ; Given the fact that Nichols’ death cannot be undone, swift justice is all that a just society can provide. ; </p>



<p>The system worked.</p>



<p>I was also struck by the candor of Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis. ; In an interview on CNN, she did not dodge any questions or show restraint in her opinions. ;  ; </p>



<p>There was no coy deflecting because the case is “still under investigation.” ; She left no room for doubt that in her opinion, it was an open-and-shut case of murder by her own police officers. ; Davis was so forthright that I wondered if she had not provided defense attorneys with claims of prejudicing the jury pool. ; </p>



<p>At the same time, however, it was refreshing to hear her state the obvious rather than hide behind official double-talk.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-family"><strong>The Family</strong></h2>



<p>I was struck by the graciousness and dignity of the Nichols family – especially the mother. ; In a very long interview on CNN, she mourned her son, but amazingly expressed sympathy for the police who killed him. ; </p>



<p>She said that she felt sorry for them because they brought shame on themselves … their families … and the black community. ; She said that there are a lot of good police officers, and she knows some.</p>



<p>She also pleaded that public reaction should be peaceful  ; She also expressed her belief that something good would come out of it. ; It was a remarkable response from a woman who has every right to be angry and bitter.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Politicizing the Tragedy</strong></h2>



<p>As can be expected, there were a lot of voices in the media that leaped on this tragedy to advance their political agendas. ; Despite all the individuals involved being black, a number of media personalities and panelists played the race card – some calling it the “result of white privilege.”  ; </p>



<p>That is utter nonsense. These are police who went rogue for reasons that are being investigated.</p>



<p>The anti-policing faction of the Democrat Party was in full force in the news – as if this event represented the thousands of police officers across America. ; Terrible as it is, the killing of young Nichols was an exception to the millions of police interactions, arrests, and even killings. ; </p>



<p>It does not prove that policing across America is broken. ; There are bad cops – but they are rare. ; There may even be institutional problems in some places – but they are few. ; Maligning all police for political gains is wrong and destructive.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Summary</strong></h2>



<p>The response by the Memphis Police Chief and the prosecutors could not have been more expeditious and more appropriate. ; It is obvious that the criminal justice system is working just fine in Memphis. ; I expect that the officers involved and culpable – including others who failed to intercede – will receive the justice they deserve in a court-of-law. ; That is the best outcome we can expect.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

The Tragedy of Tyre Nichols
