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The only color that matters is blue. In Tyre Nichols case, police culture trumps race, Northeastern experts say

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The image from video released on Jan. 27, 2023, by the City of Memphis, shows police officers talking after a brutal attack on Tyre Nichols by five Memphis police officers on Jan. 7, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn. Nichols died on Jan. 10. The five officers have since been fired and charged with second-degree murder and other offenses. (City of Memphis via AP)

Bodycam footage of Tyre Nichols’ death at the hands of five Memphis police officers was released on Friday, reigniting the conversation around police violence. The details of Nichols’ death are all too familiar. On Jan. 7, Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man was pulled over by Memphis police officers. After Nichols attempted to run away, the five officers tasered, pepper-sprayed, kicked, punched and battered Nichols with a baton. At one point, Nichols yelled, “Mom.”

But one detail of Nichols’ death is different: All five of the officers involved are Black.

More often than not the story of police violence in the U.S. has involved white officers committing acts of violence against Black people. The five officers in this case, who have since been arrested and charged with Nichols’ murder, show a different side of the story.

Continue reading at Northeastern Global News.

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