California leaders outraged, calling for calm over videos of Tire Nichols beating in Memphis
Leaders across California reacted with full-bodied condemnation when videos of the fatal caning of 29-year-old motorist Tire Nichols by police officers were released by Memphis authorities this month.
Nichols — who was from Sacramento and moved to Memphis in 2020 — was punched, stalked and punched during a traffic stop on Jan. 7, according to authorities, and footage from officers’ body cameras and a pole camera show the incident in vivid detail. Nichols was taken to a local hospital in critical condition and died three days later.
“Tyre Nichols should be alive today,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement Friday night. “The released video shows the heinous behavior and these officers must be held accountable for their deadly actions and clear abuse of power.”
Five Memphis police officers — Justin Smith, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III, Demetrius Haley and Tadarrius Bean — were fired Jan. 20 and charged with second-degree murder Thursday. They were also charged with two counts of misconduct, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, one count of official repression and one count of aggravated assault.
After the video was released, vigils and protests were quickly planned across Northern California.
One of the first came Friday night in downtown San Francisco, within hours of the footage being released, when dozens of picketed protesters peacefully marched down Market Street in front of the Westfield mall.
A portrait of Tire Nichols will be displayed Tuesday at a memorial service for him in Memphis.
Adrian Sainz, STF/Associated PressSan Francisco Mayor London Breed called the actions of the Memphis officers “terrible and inhumane.”
“We are angry and disgusted at yet another senseless loss of life of an unarmed black man at the hands of those who have sworn to serve and protect all people,” she said in a statement released Friday night. “No one is above the law, and true justice means holding the officers responsible for these crimes accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao struck a similar tone, adding that she hoped people would respect the Nichols family’s desire for peaceful protests.
“It is wrong and appalling that this young man was killed,” she said wrote on Twitter. “It pains me to know that Tire’s family had to see a video of their son and a loved one being brutally beaten and they will likely see it again in the coming days. I can’t imagine her pain.”
Bay Area representatives Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Lee each offered their condolences and called for justice.
“My heart goes out to Tire Nichols’ mother and her entire family,” Pelosi said said in a tweet. “We need to reform the police. The House of Representatives must again pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act — and this time the Senate must submit it to the President.”
lee wrote that she was “appalled at the senseless loss of another black man’s life at the hands of law enforcement.”
“It’s really hard to find words to describe the shocking brutality with which five police officers took Tire Nichols’ life,” Lee added. “It is clear that there is tremendous work to be done to address the injustices in our systems.”
For civil rights attorney John Burris — who has represented many victims of police abuse, most notably Rodney King, the plaintiffs in the Oakland Riders case, and the family of BART beating victim Oscar Grant — the most damning part of the video was that the officers stood by and didn’t Providing help to Nichols.
“It was pretty clear in terms of the level of brutality — and more importantly, it was like a pack of wolves or animals trying to get a bite out of him,” Burris said. “You know, one kicked, then another guy came in to use a baton, another used a taser. It was just vicious the way they treated her.”
Although Burris said it was clear the five black officers should be prosecuted, he believes the other officers and first responders who were at the scene and did not help Nichols should face consequences.
“I’ll say that, there were enough other guys standing around either doing nothing or silently agreeing,” he said. “Actually, they should also discipline them, not just these five people.”
In an interview with KRON News, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Nichols family, said that after viewing the footage, he believes there may be scope to increase charges against the five officers and to seek further charges against other officers at the crime scene.
“It’s so hard to see these officers brutalize this young man so badly that he dies,” Crump said. “There are some other officers at the scene who may need to be charged if you look at this video frame by frame.”
Last week, two Memphis firefighters who were “involved in providing first aid to patients” from Nichols were fired, according to officials.
Bay Area law enforcement agencies that released statements unanimously condemned the officer’s actions. It has been reported that many have been beefing up their weekend line-ups in anticipation of possible backlash.
“We stand with our community to denounce this incident and all incidents of police brutality. Those who engage in this type of behavior have no place in our profession,” the Oakland Police Department said in a statement. “The Memphis incident is painful to our community, but it does not represent the women and men of the Oakland Police Department.”
Marin County Sheriff Jamie Scardina said after seeing the video he was “shocked, angry and frustrated.”
“While officers are held accountable and their consequences are decided in court, there is no doubt that their actions will affect law enforcement as a whole,” Scardina wrote. “I want to be clear that the Marin County Sheriff’s Office believes the actions of the Memphis police officers go against everything we believe.”
San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said the officers’ actions represented the “antithesis” of the Oath Police they have sworn to uphold, adding, “This incident once again raises the pervasive problem that has arisen for generations.” — and continues to occur — in relation to the use of violence against people of color (particularly black and brown men).”
“Those of us who have chosen the police profession all have a responsibility to make the difficult and courageous decisions necessary to change this narrative for the better,” he said in a video posted on the Vimeo account published by SFPD. “I applaud and support Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis’ decision and quick action to fire the officers involved.”
A rally is planned for Sunday at 3 p.m. in San Francisco at the Third Baptist Church in Fillmore where parishioners can express their reactions.
A separate rally and march is scheduled in downtown Oakland at 5 p.m. at Oscar Grant Plaza.
The Greater Sacramento NAACP has scheduled a vigil for Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the Regency Skatepark at 5500 Honor Parkway to honor and remember Nichols’ life, the group said.
San Francisco Chronicle contributor Danielle Echeverria contributed to this report.
Joel Umanzor is a contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle. E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @jr_umanzor
