Al Sharpton: Murder of Tyre Nichols ‘Worse Than Rodney King’
That the cops who beat Nichols were Black is "egregious," civil rights leader adds
The police attack which left Black motorist Tyre Nichols dead days later is even worse than the infamous beating which Rodney King took more than 30 years ago, according to a civil rights leader and activist who's been there for both.
Authorities in Nashville, Tenn., on Friday made public more than an hour of footage of the violent beating of Nichols in which officers held the Black motorist down and struck him repeatedly as he screamed for his mother.
A father of a young child, Nichols was pulled over January 7 for what police said was reckless driving. After attempting to flee on foot, Nichols was aggressively beaten by police, newly released police video shows. Three days later, he died in the hospital.
“And over something we don’t even know was a traffic infraction. If it was something worse, you do not beat a man to death. Five men on a thin, 140-pound man unarmed, five man. You or I could have probably handcuffed him, so what is this power trip?” asked the Rev Al Sharpton, a political commentator, civil rights leader and founder of the National Action Network. “What is this venom that we allow police to put on private citizens and then talking to the [body] camera, like there is some kind of threat?
“I have seen many things over the years I've been out here. This is among the worst — if not the worst — I have seen,” Sharpton added, in an on-camera appearance on MSNBC, where he also hosts a talk show.
Five now-former officers were indicted and jailed in connection to Nichols' death. Those former each face several charges, including second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. All five charged former officers are Black.
The killing of Nichols is worse than that which another Black man — Rodney King — was subjected to more than 30 years ago in Los Angeles.
King was beaten by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers during his arrest after a pursuit for driving while intoxicated in March of 1991. An uninvolved individual filmed the incident from his nearby balcony and sent the footage to a local news station. The footage showed an unarmed King on the ground being beaten after initially evading arrest. The incident was covered by news media around the world and caused a public furor.
King passed away in 2012.
“I remember 32 years ago I led marches around Rodney King, this is worse than Rodney King,” Sharpton said. “The fact that [the accused former cops] were Black makes it even more egregious to me. We fought to get Blacks on the police force, and for them to behave in this way is inexcusable.”
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