'Disgustingly vile': Internet blasts user for saying Tyre Nichols should have 'relaxed' and OBEYED cops
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers' discretion advised.
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE: A social media post is being criticized on for certain 'repugnant' remarks made about the murder of Tyre Nichols. In the post, a user suggested that Nichols, 29, should have simply relaxed and listened to what the officers who allegedly killed him were saying, instead of resisting.
"While I find it incomprehensible how 4 policemen (sic) each of whom look like they possess twice the strength of Tyre, were not able to easily restrain him to put on handcuffs, I also wonder why didn't he simply stay still. They repeatedly asked him to stop fighting/struggling/resisting yet he didn't comply. I have little sympathy for people that can't do what they're told by the police. Don't people realize that when you are handcuffed the police can relax? Maybe we should just have handcuffing automatic when people are stopped so black people don't feel picked on. Police work is challenging so let's alleviate the stress by being calm with them. When you are stopped get your driver's license and owner's registration out and show your hands at all times when doing so. Keep your hands on the steering wheel of course when talking to them. Do everything possible to lower THEIR stress level. Sure police overreact at times. They're human! So help them not do that by remaining calm and controlled," the post on Reddit reads.
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The post added, "Look, I realize that when people grow up without a father they often lack respect for authority and a lot of black people these days grow up without a father. So this needs to be addressed by the black community. Leaders need to admonish black (and all other) youth to respect the police and if they are peaceful the police are peaceful. I have yet to see someone beaten/killed by the police that didn't resist them. Resist them in court, not on the street!" it continues. "Its pointless and just plain stupid to kick and scream. In Tyre's case it was dumber still seeing he was half the size of the police officers and wouldn't have had a chance in a physical altercation. The guy was a beanpole. The police looked like linebackers. Where is the logic in resisting? There is none. Resist later, legally."
Five former Memphis cops had been fired and charged with murder in the death of Nichols, a Black man who died three days after being allegedly beaten up brutally by MPD cops at a traffic stop. The cops who have been charged are Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith. Moreover, all of them are Black too.
"This hasn’t got anything to do with relaxing or obeying police officers. This is just straight up murder by beating, I suggest you watch the videos," one user wrote in response to the post. Another said, "You sound like the kind of person who would say "they brought it on themselves" to the Jews, or saying a rape victim deserved it because they fought back. Your callousness honestly horrifies me. It's repugnant. There is never an excuse for law enforcement to act this way, ever." "The fact that you are trying to justify the murder of a man by saying 'just shut up and take it' is DISGUSTINGLY vile," a third user wrote.
"He was ambushed from the start. Yelled at, cussed it, hands on him. Fight or flight is a normal response. I’m sure his adrenaline was pumping. It’s not like they respectfully asked him to step out of the vehicle and put his hands behind his back. Come on, do better," a user said. Whilst, another one wrote, "This specific case has nothing to do with resisting. I suggest you to rewatch all body cams to recaliber your thoughts. Also wearing a uniform does not and should not grant automatic respect and authority. And most police officers are known to abuse their power that comes from the uniform."
Further, a user said, "They never gave him a chance to obey them. They threw him out of the car and he was scared for his life. If by obeying them, you mean making it easier to kill him, Tyre couldn’t shoot himself because he didn’t have a loaded gun and was ordered to his knees. Unless the officers had asked him to kill himself before approaching his vehicle, there is nothing he could have done to follow their instructions better."
All the officers involved in the attack were members of the Scorpian unit, a group the Memphis Police Department created to tackle street crime. A video footage of the brutality was released, following which his family urged demonstrators to protest peacefully. Meanwhile, BBC News reported that the MPD has disbanded the Scorpion special unit following the murder of Nichols.
This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.