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If you want to understand why so many Black people don’t trust the police, why so many of us, when we pass a cop car, or are stopped by one, feel our hearts race, even though we know we did nothing wrong, and we look at our kid in the back seat and tell them to stay calm.
If you want to truly understand why so many of us think police officers see us as animals. As things to be dispatched, or strangled, or sent to our deaths after a hail of bullets in our backs or kicks to our sternum. Killed for holding a bag of Skittles or a toy gun or, many times, nothing at all. If you want to understand why we think cops see us as lower than white people. Lower than all people. Lower than dirt.
If you want to understand all of that, there’s one particular part of the horrid, hour-long video showing the beating death, or actually, the alleged on-screen murder of Tyre Nichols, you need to focus on.
Nichols is handcuffed and seated on the ground, moaning in pain and bloodied, after the brutal attack by the officers, five of whom would later be charged with second-degree murder. Nichols begins to fall over, and one officer tells Nichols to sit up. There’s no compassion or, at this point, aid given. The police are standing around and talking like they just watched the Tennessee Titans game.Tyre Nichols was offered little humanity
Nichols begins to fall over again. After all, he is badly beaten. And again, there is little humanity shown Nichols. In fact, he is actually taunted by one person at the scene.
The cops in the video act like a gang. They look like goons.
‘Oppression units’: Tyre Nichols’ family attorney says SCORPION units target ‘most vulnerable’
Press conference: FBI director ‘appalled’ by the Tyre Nichols traffic stop video involving Memphis PD
In that moment, you see how Black lives don’t matter to these police.
