The Heat: U.S. Police Brutality

The Heat

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Outrage and protests in the U.S., after a brutal police beating results in the death of yet another Black man.

The U.S. is again confronted with an all too familiar issue police brutality.  

People took to the streets over the weekend after violent camera footage showing a traffic stop turned deadly.

29-year-old Tyre Nichols was just yards away from home when Memphis police pulled him over for a traffic stop. Law enforcement dragged him from his car and began tasing and beating him. Nichols made an attempt to run away, but the officers caught up with him and allegedly assaulted him again. He was taken to a hospital but died from his injuries three days later.

The five police officers involved have been fired and charged with second-degree murder.

The move came fewer than three weeks after the violent incident. The victim’s family attorney says the quick indictments should be the blueprint for holding police departments accountable in the future.

Joining the discussion:

  • Ronald Hampton is the former executive director of the National Black Police Association and a retired D.C. Metropolitan police officer.
  • Cheryl Dorsey is a retired Los Angeles police department sergeant and author of the book “Black and Blue: The Creation of a Social Advocate.”
  • Joseph Williams is a former senior editor of U.S. News and World Report.
  • Reverend Doctor Rosalyn R. Nichols is the organizing pastor at Freedom’s Chapel Christian Church.