ST. LOUIS — On a chilly Friday night, several dozen people gathered outside St. Louis police headquarters to remember Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old man who was beaten by five Memphis police officers earlier this month.
"Say his name! Tyre Nichols! Tyre Nichols!” demonstrators shouted.
Members from the community group Expect Us, clergy leaders, citizens and lawmakers huddled in a circle to grieve in solidarity with Nichols' family.
"I'm tired of it. Aren't y'all tired of coming out here in these streets? Aren't y’all tired of crying over blood that's spilled in the streets,” screamed Ohun Ashe.
The demonstrators blocked off a section of Olive Street for more than an hour.
During their peaceful demonstration, they also didn't hold back their outrage after watching the police bodycam footage released on Friday.
"This is ... egregious. These are police officers who have been sworn to protect and serve all citizens. These police officers had total disregard not just for the law, but for human life,” said the Rev. Darryl Gray, a community activist.
"We're tired of it, and we’re not gonna take it anymore. They will know we want justice. We demand justice,” said Reginald Garth.
Gray said St. Louis area clergy members recently met with newly appointed police chief Robert Tracy. Members of Expect Us and other community activists will also soon meet with Tracy.
“So many people hide their heads in the sands when it comes to these type of issues. We want to know how is Chief Tracy going to police bad police officers and what is the department’s policy on excessive use of force," Gray said.
St. Louis leaders react
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones reacted to the released video and Nichols' death, saying in a statement:
"Families across our region and our country have seen yet another traumatizing video showing the tragic, heinously violent final moments of a Black man’s life. As the mother of a Black son, my heart goes out to Tyre Nichols’ family and friends, and I pray they find justice. Tyre should still be with us today.
"When we say that Black Lives Matter, it affirms our shared humanity that police mercilessly denied Tyre. Community trust is necessary to make our neighborhoods safer, and the incident in Memphis tragically reminds us that we still have a lot of work to do. Last year, I worked with the Board of Aldermen to pass a new ordinance to strengthen civilian oversight of our public safety departments. While it currently faces a challenge in court, this will not stop me from continuing to advocate for police accountability in St. Louis."
Congresswoman Cori Bush released the following statement regarding the killing of Nichols:
"Tyre Nichols should be alive today. He should be playing with his four-year-old son. He should be skateboarding and photographing sunsets. But instead, Tyre was brutally beaten to death by Memphis Police officers. And now, instead of seeing the photographs he took, the world watches Tyre crying out for his mother in his final moments of consciousness.
"Charging the officers who brutalized Tyre is not enough. Our country will continue to sanction the taking of Black lives with impunity until it embraces an affirmative vision of public safety and dismantles its racist policing system rooted in enslavement and government control. And let’s be clear: merely diversifying police forces will never address the violent, racist architecture that underpins our entire criminal legal system. The mere presence of Black officers does not stop policing from being a tool of white supremacy.
"It is abundantly clear that rogue, militarized policing has never and will never keep us safe. Following a year of record-breaking police killings, prevention is the best path forward. Achieving genuine public safety requires investing in our communities. We need unarmed emergency first responder agencies, 911 diversion programs, civilian traffic enforcement, community-based and -led interventions, safe passage to school and violence interruption programs, behavioral health and crisis support treatment, nutrition support, housing security, and programs for youth and families, survivors of violence, and individuals exiting incarceration or criminal supervision.
"St. Louis and I mourn with Tyre’s family and echo their call to disband the SCORPION unit of the Memphis Police Department. I will not stop advocating for a country where our government helps feed, house, educate and support our children, families, and community members, instead of slaughtering them at the altar of white supremacy. Rest in Power Tyre; it is in your name and the name of the thousands of other Black lives killed by police that we will keep pushing to not only end police brutality but dismantle the uniquely American racist and violent policing system.
"To my colleagues in Congress: how many more people have to die at the hands of police for you to join our push for an unequivocal, affirmative public safety agenda that saves lives?”
The Missouri Legislative Black Caucus Chair Marlene Terry released the following statement:
“There are no words to adequately describe the pure evil displayed by the five Memphis police officers who savagely killed Tyre Nichols. This heinous act is another example of the systemic problem with policing that too often brutalizes the Black community.
"The firm responses from Memphis Police Department Chief Cerelyn Davis and Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy are appreciated, though it must be noted that it is highly unlikely that five private citizens who participated in a violent kidnapping and public killing would be afforded the privilege of bail that the five now-former police officers have received. While we ultimately expect the former police officers to be held rightfully accountable by the law, swift justice should not only be reserved for when the offenders are Black. Policing will not get better until we have significant policy reform and hold every officer who commits these acts of inhumanity to account.
"The Missouri Legislative Black Caucus extend our sincerest condolences to the Nichols family and we join their call for peaceful protests. Additionally, we echo President Biden in urging Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The MLBC will make every effort to ensure that the blight of police brutality is finally a relic of the past."
The Ethical Society of Police released the following statement:
"After viewing the body cam videos of the beating of Tyre Nichols, we see no justification for the response of these five individuals - their actions were horrible. Those were not police officers at the time of that beating. Those were five, angry black men who took their frustrations out on a helpless unarmed black man.
"These five individuals disgraced the profession like those before them who behaved similarly. You disgrace the badge when you beat unarmed human beings. You disgrace the badge when you punch defenseless women. You disgrace the badge when you forget why you wear the badge.
"It's hard enough being a black man in today's society, but it's twice as hard being a black police officer in today's society.
"We condemn the actions of these individuals who brutally beat a black man in the streets as if he was nothing. Black or white, beating a human being unmercifully must be met with the highest consequences under the law."