Bloomington-Normal NAACP denounces death of Tyre Nichols, officers facing murder charges

Posted on January 27, 2023
The local NAACP chapter issued the statement on Friday. (Photo courtesy: NAACP/Facebook)

By 25 News

BLOOMINGTON – The Bloomington-Normal NAACP is denouncing the death of Tyre Nichols – an African-American man – at the hands of five African-American police officers in Memphis, Tennessee.

The officers were charged Thursday with murder and other crimes in the killing of Nichols, a motorist who died three days after a January 7 confrontation with officers during a traffic stop.

“The preliminary reports of the police officers’ indictment for kidnapping and murder are disturbing and concerning,” said Bloomington-Normal NAACP President Linda Foster. “The NAACP adamantly rebukes police brutality, no matter the officers’ race, creed or color.”

Memphis Police Director Cerelyn Davis described the officers’ actions as “heinous, reckless and inhumane,” and said Friday that her department has been unable to substantiate the reckless driving allegation that prompted the stop.

Attorneys for the Nichols family, Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, called on Davis to disband the police department’s so-called scorpion unit focused on street crime.

Video of the traffic stop is set to be released sometime Friday night.

25 News can be reached at [email protected].

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