In January 2023, I went to Memphis to report the killing of Tire Nichols, an unarmed black man who was beaten to death by a group of Memphis police. Like most Americans, I have seen too many videos in recent years, police have caused special judicial failures to the Memphis justice, a special failure in a city that has suffered from non-high abuse, a form of high-risk crime in its poorest neighborhoods and overeat in the form of widespread abuse.

Even so, when the city released the video, I was shocked what I saw. A police team from a special squad called the Scorpion Force savagely defeated Nichols and then did not bother to provide any medical assistance. They did most of it under Skycop, one of the ubiquitous Memphis surveillance cameras, and obviously unemployed, they would face an impact on their behavior.

They were wrong - but it wasn't wrong. Although five officers were quickly fired and the Scorpion troops were disbanded, it seems very few (if any) are convicted of the worst charges of a man's meaningless death. This week, a jury found three former Nichols dead officials on multiple charges, including second-degree murder, at a trial in Memphis. Two other people agreed to plead guilty to some federal and state charges, one of which testified at trial. The same three officials were sentenced to retrenchment in a federal trial last year and were convicted of causing personal injury to violate Nichols' civil rights.

There is still no good explanation for why this happens. Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis said the officers seemed to have no reason to pull Nichols over in traffic parking. However, once they did, some officers pulled their weapons, started sprinkling pepper and manipulating him. When he (understands) struggles to escape, the police call for backup, chase, and eventually catch him. "I wish they were stepping on his ass," an officer who did not chase Nicole and was not charged was recorded in the recording. His officials did, defeating Nichols, just yards from his mother's home. He died in the hospital.

Despite the existence of video evidence, prosecutors do face some challenges in this case. First, few are charged with murder, and when they are convicted, they are rarely convicted. Second, in the words of the deputy district attorney, three former former officials at the trial were "the least culprits" and the two agreed to plead guilty. Third, defense attorneys succeeded in controversy that widespread news coverage in Memphis would rule out a fair trial, so the jury was white, not from Memphis, not from around Chattanooga on the other side of Tennessee.

Even so, after the verdict, District Attorney Steve Mulroy seemed shocked. “I was surprised that given the overwhelming evidence we think we have presented, there is no criminal verdict on any charge or any smaller offense?” he said, his voice nervous. "Yes, I'm surprised. Do I have an explanation? No."

Nichols' mother, Rowvaughn Wells, was not bound by the same moral code as the prosecutor. "These people were allowed to come here, look at the evidence, deny the evidence," she said.

George Floyd's anger at the murders in 2020 seems to be a turning point in criminal justice. After a series of high-profile cases began in 2015, officials and the public remained consistent with demands for law enforcement reforms that would punish and prevent unnecessary killings. But, as I wrote, Derek Chauvin was convicted of kneeling on Floyd's neck until his death, the case was a rare exception - at least because of video evidence involving the stomach and strong condemnation by the Minneapolis Police Chief. Although personal prosecution is important, I think there is a greater demand for system reform.

The Memphis verdict shows what a chauvin outlier is: Although the video is at least frightening, the three former officers escaped the murder, despite the rapid action of the police chief taking out the action and condemning their actions. Meanwhile, political turmoil and violent crime continue to rise after 2020, which helps move towards wider reform actions, both in Memphis and across the country.

In early 2024, the Memphis City Council refused to reapply for Davis, but she continued to serve as interim chief. Earlier this year, Davis won the permanent title. Around the same time, the city of Memphis refused to sign a consent form, which would allow oversight by the U.S. Department of Justice, which “discovered “an act or practice that deprived people of their rights under the Constitution and federal laws” to record in shocking details. City leaders knew that after Donald Trump took office, the Justice Department would remove oversight of local police departments and civil rights laws, just as his administration did the first time.

Trump has long called for more cruel policing, complaining that police are not allowed to fight crime with necessary resilience. "Please don't be too good," he said in a 2017 speech to the officers of Long Island. He also issued an order to "release" the police and had a private law firm provide a pro bono legal defense for police officers accused of misconduct.

"What I know is: Tire Nichols is dead and should be alive," Muroy said Wednesday. The court failed to convict the murder of former officers who beat him and politicians who made greater accountability, meaning he will not be the last person to suffer an unjust death.

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