ATLANTA — Five police officers are in jail and charged with killing a man in a traffic stop in Memphis.
Tyre Nichols was pulled over on January 7, just minutes away from his home. He died three days later.
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Channel 2 Action News has new reactions to this incident that’s getting people’s attention nationwide.
“Two years after George Floyd, seven years after Jimmy Atchison. We’re still having the same conversation about police accountability,” said Gerald Griggs with the Georgia NAACP.
Griggs said that conversation is back in the spotlight.
“My heart is heavy for what happened to Mr. Nichols,” said Griggs.
Nichols was killed on Jan. 10 during a traffic stop with Memphis police. On Thursday, officials charged five former Memphis police officers with the murder of 29-year-old Nichols.
Nichols’ family held a vigil honoring him the day before officials were set to release body camera video of the incident.
The City of Memphis plans on releasing that body cam video Friday.
“I would hope that the release of the video would occur a little bit earlier in the day so that activists and people that are going to do peaceful protest would have an opportunity to exercise their First Amendment Rights,” said Griggs.
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On Thursday, Gov. Brian Kemp issued a 15-Day State of Emergency, putting the National Guard on standby. Griggs said he urges the governor not to call the National Guard.
“I strongly urge the governor, one, not to call the National Guard, but two, if you are calling them, they need body cams on,” said Griggs.
Griggs said they would be peaceful and want their voices heard.
“This is not about being anti-law enforcement. It’s about being pro-justice. Right now, there’s not a lot of justice going on. It seems like it’s ‘just us.’ We’re done dying. Done. Until elected officials understand that we are done dying, we will be outside,” said Griggs.
Atlanta Police released the following statement regarding the recent events in Memphis:
“We are closely monitoring the events in Memphis and are prepared to support peaceful protests in our city. We understand and share in the outrage surrounding the death of Tyre Nichols. Police officers are expected to conduct themselves in a compassionate, competent, and constitutional manner and these officers failed Tyre, their communities, and their profession. We ask that demonstrations be safe and peaceful.”
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