In the days following the release of a Memphis video showing the brutal police beating of a young, unarmed Black man, protesters across the Boston area have called for a reckoning in how America polices its citizens.
The video of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old motorist, revealed that police officers yanked him from his vehicle before raining down a barrage of physical blows, including several to his head. The violence, captured on police body cameras and surveillance footage, eventually proved fatal.
The five Memphis officers involved in the violence have been indicted on charges of second-degree murder and kidnapping.
On Friday evening, as the City of Memphis released the graphic video, mourners in Boston made their way to The Embrace, a new sculpture on the Boston Common dedicated to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu was among those present.
Protesters now in downtown Boston moments after release of video of the fatal beating of #TyreeNichols, who was punched and assaulted with batons by five #MemphisPolice - major Boston police presence throughout downtown area. @lisawilliams @GBHNews @NPRnewsdesk #TyreNichols pic.twitter.com/nwobT5bbi1
— Phillip W.d. Martin (@phillipWGBH) January 28, 2023
Boston Mayor Wu tonight at the Embrace sculpture lamenting the death of #TyreeNichols in Memphis. She called for an end to violence against Black & brown communities and afterwards hugged some in the rather small crowd including police officers. @lisawilliams @GBHNews @wutrain pic.twitter.com/n7QKR0Ekr7
— Phillip W.d. Martin (@phillipWGBH) January 27, 2023
Also at The Embrace sculpture Friday, GBH News captured the remarks of Rev. Jeffrey Brown as he offered a prayer.
On Saturday, mourners hoisted signs in the shadow of the Massachusetts State House, where legislation guiding police policy in the commonwealth is drafted and debated.
After the police video was made public, numerous law enforcement groups across New England released statements condemning the violent behavior of the officers involved.
The Middlesex County Chiefs of Police Association, a group representing 54 municipal police departments, released a statementsaying they were “horrified” by what occurred in Memphis.
The Rhode Island Police Chiefs’ Association said the actions of the former Memphis police officers involved “a lack of humanity” and “a blatant disregard for the oath law enforcement officers take to protect and serve.”
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, who represents much of the greater Boston area in the U.S. House, said police brutality is a “deeply rooted crisis” that will take considerable work to fix. In a statement, she called for “drastic structural change” so that future tragedies, particularly those against Black and brown communities, can be prevented.
WATCH: Police policies didn’t stop Memphis officers from killing Tyre Nichols. What would?
