Following the horrific video released by Memphis Police, Pryor voices outrage for Black community
Tonight, the Memphis Police Department released disturbing body camera footage of the violent arrest and beating of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old father from Tennessee. Nichols died in a hospital a few days after the Jan. 7th attack, following a routine traffic stop, resulting in a heart attack and kidney failure. In response to the video and events out of Memphis, Indiana State Representative and Minority Floor Leader Cherrish Pryor (D-Indianapolis) provided the following statement:
“I was born approximately 45-minutes south of Memphis, the location where yet another Black American has lost their life at the hands of police. I ache for the community. I have friends and family that still live in that city, I know that this tragedy is not isolated to Tennessee. Tyre Nichols’ represents another life lost, another future ended, another family without a son, brother and father. I join his loved ones and the larger-Memphis community in mourning Tyre. I pray that as the nation grapples with this brutal attack caught on video, they can find peace and healing, knowing that the officers have been fired and charged. We must also take from this tragedy a call to action to prevent more senseless deaths at the hands of law enforcement.”
“Of the five officers responsible for his death, not one intervened to save his life, a sacred charge of their profession,” Pryor added. “This dereliction of duty is a prime example of the need for criminal justice reform in every corner of our country.
“I am encouraged to see that the Memphis Police Department has moved swiftly to fire and charge the officers responsible for the tragedy. This is the speed of response I want to see from every police department across the nation regardless of the officers’ skin color. Police departments must learn from this, so it does not happen again. Only with decisive action, accountability and meaningful change will trust happen between Black communities and law enforcement. The moral compass for law enforcement and the community should always be truth and trust”