My Heart Hurts And is Angry At The Same Time

I cannot, will not watch the video. Knowing that it happened, reading an article with the description of what happened was bad enough. The fact that a man was literally beaten to death but those who took a job to serve and protect is sickening. On a post that someone put up on social media, there was the comment that when Tyre Nichols cried out for his mama, all mothers were summoned. Just knowing what little I know, my heart hurts.

It does not matter race. The race of the victim, the police, those of us sitting out here seeing all this unfold. It does not matter whether this man did anything or not. What matters is because of this attack, this brutal beating, this murder, a twenty-nine year old man is dead. A mother has lost her son, a son who called for her in his time of need. If only she had known, if she could only have heard that call, she would have been there, doing what mothers do for their children. A father, has lost his son. A family forever separated because of a vicious, malicious, brutal attack that should never have happened.

I’m writing this, again admittedly knowing very little of the details. One thing I read, they had pulled him over and he ran. They caught him, and they killed him. There was no reason for it to go that far. There was no reason to attack like a pack of wild, mad dogs going after their prey.  There was no reason that this young man should be dead.

His family has asked for any protesting to be peaceful. For all to remain calm and not rush out creating a path of destruction. “I don’t want us burning up our city, tearing up the streets, because that’s not what my son stood for,” Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, said Thursday. “If you guys are here for me and Tyre, then you will protest peacefully.” A quote taken from an AP article.

The five former officers, as they were fired, were taken into custody and face charges; The officers each face charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. This information was from the same article. https://www.yahoo.com/news/memphis-braces-release-video-tyre-140451905.html

I’m not sure what will happen to the five. I started to say I don’t care what happens, but I do. They need to be punished because what they did was beyond wrong. They go on living, this young man is gone forever. There needs to be accountability. There needs to be control. There needs to be something set in place or if already in place, utilized to prevent this. Too many people have faced a miscarriage of justice. Whether through profiling, through witness error, through deception of others, the lack of doing the work required, or any other method of wrong doing.

I believe that most police are good. They put on the uniform and set out to make a difference. To follow the serve and protect to the best of their ability. They go out each shift with the heart and mind to make sure their  town and their neighborhood and therefore their neighbors, are safe. We hear very little about the good because the news outlets search for and depend on the sensational. The news that will stir up the masses and get the most viewers. We need to get more excited over the good cops. But make sure the bad find out that their attitudes and actions are not acceptable in this society.

What happened to Tyre Nichols, is not in any way, shape or form, acceptable. We all need to do better, because we are better than this. We have to be better than this.