Police brutality in the US; a persistent problem

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In 2020, the murder of George Floyd, who died from lack of oxygen, evoked a national “reckoning” of American police culture. In January 2023, the Nichols case in Memphis exposed a fact: for more than two years, the US police reforms have not significantly reduced such killings. According to American scholars and police reform advocates who track death data, since 2020, the US police shot and killed more than 1,000 people yearly or about 3 people per day. The cries for help by the victims are still heard, but real change is still elusive.

Three minutes of darkness: pepper spray, stun guns, bondage, and beating

In January, the Memphis Police Department released a video of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old African American man who was violently beaten to death when he was arrested by five local police officers. The four videos lasted for more than one hour in total from the cameras carried by the police and the surveillance video near the incident. They record the heart-wrenching scene that unfolded on January 7.

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On the same day, Nichols, a FedEx employee, was stopped by the police on the grounds of suspected “reckless driving” while driving home. The police loudly ordered Nichols to get out of the car, pulled him out of the car, and tried to pin him to the ground, swearing and threatening. “I didn’t do anything,” Nichols said. Later, when officers appeared to use the stun gun, Nichols broke free and ran away. After that, the police chased Nichols on a street corner. Two of them were responsible for subduing him, the third policeman kicked him, and the fourth took out his baton and beat him several times. When a policeman used pepper spray, Nichols who fell on the ground did not resist but kept screaming in a painful hoarse voice: “Mom!” Nichols’ mother’s residence was only more than 50 meters away from the incident.

After reviewing the video, Nichols’ lawyer said when the second confrontation occurred, the police abused the victim for 3 minutes using a “cruel” and “inhumane” way: they not only used pepper spray and stun guns but also tied him up and beat him, Nichols begged the police, “I just want to go home." In the end, Nichols died three days later after the incident due to severe beatings that caused him serious bleeding.

After the video was exposed, there was an uproar in the United States. Americans in many cities took to the streets to protest, complaining of dissatisfaction with the police's violent law enforcement. People regard this incident as a replica of the "Floyd case", except that Floyd was "kneeled and killed" by a white policeman, while Nichols died at the hands of a policeman of the same color. Nichols' mother said in an interview for the media, "This is even more uncomfortable. Because the other party is black, they should understand what we all have to go through."

"Nichols Tragedy" happens almost every day, blacks are suffering from systemic discrimination

At the protest, one protester's comments resonated: Three years ago, Floyd's dying plea that he "couldn't breathe" was still ringing in our ears and last year's tragic incident in which African American man, Walker, who was shot more than 60 times by police officers was still fresh in our minds. Why nothing has changed, and tragedies still keep happening?

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According to data tracked by the Mapping Police Violence, US law enforcement killed at least 1,186 people in 2022, a 10-year high record, with only nine days in the year without anyone being shot or killed. Although African Americans make up only 13% of the US population, 26% of victims come from them. That means there is a "Nichols" killed almost every day. Analysts and US public opinion point out that this incident appears to be a violent law enforcement issue, but essentially it reflects that the systematic racial discrimination that President Joe Biden called a "stain on the soul of America" is difficult to eradicate, and the situation is no different than it was three years ago. Notably, deep-seated prejudice and distrust of minorities permeate law enforcement agencies and even affect minority groups themselves, causing them to adopt discriminatory attitudes when confronted with people of their own color and to express such sentiments in harmful ways.

The US has long wanted to promote police reform, but the reform has not touched the core issue, namely the overall social climate of racial discrimination. Both parties in the US recognize the chronic problem of racial discrimination, and Biden even made it clear at the beginning of his term that he would respond to it, but Nichols' death proves that it is difficult for the US to effectively advance the solution to the racial problem. For example, Republicans ostensibly say they value security and the rule of law, but in fact, they also want the police to arrest more people, because private prisons in the US are a large industry that requires a certain level of occupancy to ensure profitability. But this will inadvertently lead to indiscriminate arrests and increase the risk of violent law enforcement. The Democrats, on the other hand, are playing the "immigration card", hoping that minorities will consolidate their votes during the election.

Thus, on one side is the Democratic Party, which is calculating for the sake of the election and does not face and address the demands of minority groups at other times, and on the other side is the Republican Party, which continues to show a tendency of "white supremacy" and contributes to the discrimination against minorities. The result is understandable. For example, Congress has advanced the police reform bill named after George Floyd, which is still stuck in the Senate. This lack of social governance, in turn, fuels the "dark force" of racial discrimination and increases the hostility and social tension in American society.

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“There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.” 2023 will be the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. From the "Tragedy of Floyd" to the death of Nichols, American society is falling into a vicious cycle of violent law enforcement, racial discrimination, and intensified conflicts. When we no longer hear black people crying out for their mothers when they are being brutalized, it will be possible to avoid a repeat of the nightmare.