Rally urges police reform ordinances
Community members gather outside city hall
More than 50 students, teachers and community members rallied outside Memphis City Hall Thursday night, demanding city leaders pass six ordinances aimed at reforming policing in the wake of Tyre Nichols’ death.
“Regardless of what they do back there,” said the Rev. Roslyn Nichols (no relation to Tyre Nichols), president of the Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope (MICAH), pointing behind her toward City Hall. “We will not stop until we get justice for Tyre and for our community.”
Nichols died Jan. 10, three days after being brutally beaten, tased and pepper sprayed by Memphis police officers. Six Memphis police officers, two emergency medical technicians and a firefighter have been fired from their jobs as the city reviews what happened leading up to the beating of Nichols on Jan. 7.
In the wake of Nichols’ death, activists have rallied around the passage of six ordinances aimed at reforming policing in the city. The ordinances include one requiring police to only use “appropriately marked vehicles” for traffic stops, an ordinance requiring the regular collection and reporting of data regarding traffic stops, arrests, use of force and complaints and an ordinance
clarifying appropriate methods of traffic enforcement, including blocking police from pulling over drivers for having one brake light out, for not having a bumper or for having a license plate in the car’s window.
“I know we’re all out here supporting getting our demands met and that includes getting these ordinances passed,” said Memphis activist Amber Sherman. “This Tuesday is the city council so I want to make sure we give a breakdown of what those ordinances are and why they’re imperative to save Black lives. Because that’s what we’re
trying to do, right? We’re trying to save Black lives. That’s what these ordinances are guided to do.”
All six city ordinances passed their second readings on Feb 21. Ordinances will need to pass three readings before they are made final. Activists encouraged citizens to show up to Tuesday’s council meeting to make public comment, pointing specifically to two amendments they want made: one to the ordinance about unmarked cars to also prevent plain clothed officers
from making traffic stops and one to the ordinance clarifying appropriate methods of traffic enforcement to include blocking police from pulling over drivers for drivers license violations and proof of insurance violations.
“We’re using these administrative laws against folks to discriminate against them, to pull them over and murder them,” Sherman said. “And we ain’t going to stand for that anymore. We want those amendments added and we want folks to know when they come up to the city council on Tuesday and they make their public comments, they mention these amendments because they are very important.”
Before the protesters left city hall, they hung their signs up on the construction fences that surround the entrance to the building, including signs that read “meet the demands,” “how many weren’t filmed?” and “pass the data transparency ordinance.”
“So that city council members walking in between now and March 7, they know what’s on the community’s hearts and in their guts,” said Ron Davis, a field organizer with MICAH.
Gina Butkovich can be reached at 901/232-6714.