30 January 2023 - Tyre Nichols beaten to death by police in Memphis
After a weekend of protests against police brutality, Memphis officials note that investigation into Tyre Nichols’ death is not over
Nouran Salahieh (CNN, 30/01/2023)
As protesters gathered across US cities over the weekend following the Memphis police beating that led to the death of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, officials have said the investigation into the incident will continue amid questions over whether there could be additional charges.
Memphis police disband unit whose officers fatally beat Tyre Nichols
Associated Press (The Guardian, 28/01/2023)
The Memphis police chief on Saturday disbanded the unit whose officers beat to death Tyre Nichols as the nation, citing a “cloud of dishonor”, as the city struggled to come to grips with video showing police pummeling the Black motorist.
The Police Folklore That Helped Kill Tyre Nichols
David D. Kirkpatrick (The New Yorker, 28/01/2023)
Thirty-four years ago, near the crest of the crack-cocaine-fuelled crime surge of the early nineteen-nineties, two F.B.I agents began a novel investigation of threats to police. One agent was a former police lieutenant in Washington, D.C. The other was also a Catholic priest with a doctorate in psychology. Together, they plunged into the prison system, interviewing fifty convicted cop killers. Most criminologists today call such research pseudoscience. A sample size of fifty was almost anecdotal, and why should anyone trust a cop killer, anyway?
Acts that defy humanity:’ 3 essential reads on police brutality, race and the power of video evidence
Howard Manly (The Conversation, 27/01/2023)
In the case of the five Black, former Memphis police officers accused of murder in the beating death of Tyre Nichols, justice has moved quickly.
In fewer than 30 days after Nichols’ Jan. 10, 2023 death, the former officers were charged with second-degree murder, assault, kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.