On Jan. 27, surveillance footage was released to the public in which Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was severely beaten and injured by five Black police officers from the Memphis Police Department in Memphis. The attack occurred on Jan. 7, and he died three days later due to his injuries.
Public outrage intensified an already tenuous relationship between the police community and citizens.
Senior Johnathan Sullivan, a computer science major, described his feelings on the killing of Nichols as a numbness.
“The feeling is numbing, scary and utterly defeating. Another Black man murdered by police is nothing new, but the way they beat him because of their own inexperience and humiliation was horrifying to see. It reminded me of the Mafia and how they beat the life out of people to get answers they want,” Sullivan said.
The officers were immediately fired from their department and charged with second-degree murder. While only five were given the murder charge, seven more police officers may face disciplinary action for breaking policy violations during the Nichols case, according to CBS News.
Junior Keshun Gunn, a sports and recreation major, believes this case should remind people of the severity of police brutality and how policing needs to be reformed.
“I hate hearing about anyone getting their life taken from them, and at some point, we have to do more to prevent police brutality. I think we as a whole nation should address the issues of police brutality and how it’s becoming a common problem. As far as combating it, I think more training and having more police officers go through more psychological training will help with (cases of police brutality),” Gunn said.
A police incident on Jan. 17 in Oxford also caught media attention when a video surfaced on social media of a deputy from the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department putting his knee on a suspect’s neck and punching him on the ground.
Many instances of excessive force by police across the country have involved white officers and Black suspects. However, more recent acts of violence have led people to acknowledge that police brutality can be committed by officers of any race.
“Whether they’re Black, white, Asian, etc., a cop is a cop. Even if they weren’t cops, those African American ‘brothers’ are, personally, no brothers to me — just the police,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan is the president of Men of Excellence, a student organization that aims to, “use mentoring to abridge the opportunity/achievement gap for men of color at the University of Mississippi.”
He believes the Tyre Nichols killing and instances of brutality like it should not be normalized in the Black community.
“We are talking about fixing a generational corruption for centuries. That doesn’t mean we stop, though. We continue to teach and inspire the next generation in hopes that one day, the gap is fixed,” Sullivan said.
The Daily Mississippian asked the Oxford Police Department for comment and was instructed to set up an appointment, which could not be obtained prior to publication.
