Below is my column on the release of the videotapes in the Nichols case and what they suggest about the prosecution of the five officers accused of murder. This is the longer version of the column that ran in the New York Post.
Here is the column:
The release of the videotapes from the lethal arrest of Tyre Nichols, 29, shows a shocking lack of professional tactics and procedures. This looks like adrenaline-filled rage . . . from the officers. At certain points, it is the suspect who sounds to be trying to deescalate the situation.
It is unfortunately not unique. In physical encounters, officers can escalate violence and lose control with lethal consequences.
The footage helps establish a number of legal points. The force is clearly and undeniably excessive. It was a complete breakdown of training and supervision.
It is hard to look at this tape objectively and analytically given the emotional impact of the scene. Yet, the footage helps establish a number of legal points.
There is both a state and federal investigation ongoing and the tapes will help and hurt aspects of those cases.
Murder
There is ample basis for taking a second-degree murder case to trial. However, the tape also shows where the defense is likely to go in the coming weeks.
The officers are not just facing second-degree murder charges but a whole slew of charges from aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping to official oppression. The aggravated assault and official oppression charges are amply supported by the videotape. The defense will likely focus on controlling the damage rather than leave the case unscathed.
The defense is likely to attack the second degree murder charge because there was a rapid escalation and a defendant fled. One officer is shown saying that Nichols tried to grab his gun. While the beatings on the tape could well justify most people fleeing in fear, second degree murder is “a knowing killing of another.” It does not require premeditation. The officers appear out of control but the counsel will argue that they did not knowingly or intentionally try to kill Nichols. Indeed, his death may have been caused in part by the delay in medical aid.
The aggravated kidnapping could also face challenge. Usually an invalid stop or arrest is not treated as kidnapping, particularly after a suspect allegedly flees.
Finally, the “one-size-fits-all” charges for five officers could prove problematic. The officers are not using the same level of force. The worst acts include an officer positioning himself to get a clear shot to kick Nichols in the face as two officers struggle with him on the ground.
Most horrific cases tend to look monolithic at the outset. However, more granular details emerge over time that can differentiate the conduct of individual officers. The detail on these tapes shows different conduct and levels of force that a jury will have to balance.
Civil Rights Violation
The tapes would initially appear to show a death caused by excessive force caused by a lack of training and control rather than racial animus. However, this case was quickly framed in racial terms. That is not unique with our hair-triggered commentary and coverage.
This month, when a man killed 10 people and injured 10 others in Southern California, politicians and pundits rushed forward to declare the attack as a hate crime. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer denounced the “bigotry and hate” of the crime.
Politicians did not wait to learn that it was committed by an Asian American with a history of mental illness who claimed to be “the president of Tokyo.”
Similar comments followed the death of Nichols before it was revealed that all of the officers are also African-American.
That is why the move of the Justice Department to open a civil rights investigation is surprising. While denouncing this killing, Police chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis told the public that the race of the officers “takes off the table that issues and problems in law enforcement [are] about race.”
There was a general rule that such civil rights investigations would follow state investigations and charges. That rule was discarded by the Obama Administration in cases like the killing of Trayvon Martin. After the fanfare of the investigation, the Administration quietly shut it down and did not bring any charges.
This is another case where the opening of the civil rights investigation may be premature. This is not a case of local authorities who are showing a lack of effort or an animus toward the deceased. Memphis quickly fired all five officers and indicted them in a remarkably short time. They publicly denounced the officers’ actions and sought second-degree murder convictions.
Since a federal prosecution would follow the state prosecution, it is not clear why the Biden Administration launched the investigation. Having a set of federal investigators pursuing witnesses and analyzing evidence can present challenges for local police in making the case against these officers.
One element that remains unknown is the view on the validity of the traffic stop. Officers are shown on videotape saying that Nichols almost hit their car and was driving dangerously. Race-based incidents often involve pre-textual or invalid reasons for a stop. The prosecutors expressly declined to say that the initial traffic stop for reckless driving was pre-textual.
In the end, the mere fact that the officers are black does not negate the possibility of a civil rights violation. However, the videotapes suggest a more common explanation of officers who are poorly trained and out of control in a physical altercation.
What is most clear is that the officers all deserved to be fired and that justice is being done. That point may be lost on protesters, but the police, prosecutors, and defense counsel are seeking real justice in the case of Tyre Nichols.
We should have picked our own cotton.
No doubt you would have wanted to be paid for that.
The ‘Drip, Drip’ Pattern Of These Cases.
There is a long-established pattern to these police violence stories in which the victims are first portrayed as bright-eyed innocents. But as the story matures, we learn the victim was more dubious than initial reports.
The Michael Brown story, in Ferguson, was originally headlined as “Black College Student Shot Dead For Jaywalking”. Not only was Brown not a college student, but he was stopped for a strong-arm robbery (captured on video). Brown punched the cop, then lunged for the cop’s gun. Yet none of these facts came out until about 10 days after initial headlines.
George Floyd inexplicably hung around, outside the convenience store, even after the store associate approached Floyd’s car and accused him of passing a counterfeit $20. Common sense should have told Floyd to clear out before police responded. Yet Floyd stayed there only to have a mental breakdown when police invariably arrived. Toxicology reports strongly suggested that Floyd was impaired by fentanal and alcohol. He more than likely hung around because he was too impaired to drive.
The Breona Taylor story was originally reported as a ‘wrong door’ raid. Only much later did we learn police had the right address. Taylor’s recent ex-boyfriend was an ex-convict drug dealer who had used Taylor’s home, car and bank account as part of his business. These facts do not excuse the cops for mindlessly shooting into the house as long as they did. But Taylor was ‘not’ the innocent widely portrayed.
The Jacob Blake case in Kenosha was first reported as a backyard Bar-B-Q that was raided by police after Blake broke up a fight between two women. Initial reports suggested that Blake did not care to speak with police out of deference to the women. Only later did it emerge that Blake was banned from that home because he had attempted to rape the hostess, his ex-girlfriend. In other words, Blake brought his small children to a home where he was barred by a restraining order.
Perhaps with Tyre Nichols there will be no revelations calling his character into question. Still one has to ask why Nichols refused to be a handcuffed; a fact the media ignores but is totally apparent in the videos. One cannot just tell police they refuse to be handcuffed and expect to negotiate the terms of their arrest.
Anonymous—-Great comment.
Professor Turley:
Please examine the link in your statement that says:
“Politicians did not wait to learn that it was committed by an Asian American with a history of mental illness who claimed to be “the president of Tokyo.””
The connecting link does not appear to have ANY connection to the events In question.
Thank you for your commentary.
That’s the problem with blacks, they always seem to resist arrest and then it escalates.
…yeah, I watched the dang video – coudn’t hardly make out anything… but once again (like Rodney King, George Floyd, etc.), it seems the perp was resisting arrest… gotta feel sorry for cops in this country, really do… I know I’d NEVER be a cop or serve in the military again either.
What the video shows, IMHO, is the police culture of “us vs. them” and the inherent racism that’s part of police culture, even among black police officers. If this was a traffic stop, then why demand that he get out of the vehicle in the first place? Where is the footage from inside the police vehicle that would document the allegedly reckless driving? Why did they repeatedly comment that he was hopped up on drugs? Why did at least 3 of the officers turn off their body cameras when they caught up with him after he escaped and was running for his life? Why, when he was already on the ground and mortally wounded, did they kick him and beat him with batons? Why the haymaker punch when he was just standing there and not resisting? Why did they keep saying “show me your hands”, when they were kneeling on his arms? Why didn’t they immediately render him aid instead of standing around commenting to one another about what they had done to him and trying to get their stories straight? Why did it take 28 minutes for paramedics to arrive? Why? Because they KNEW they went way too far–they thought they were creating a record to defend their actions–the “us vs. them” police mentality–kill them before they kill us. Nichols was on his dinner break from seond shift at Fed Ex. He wasn’t high on drugs–he was headed home where his mother had dinner waiting every night. His last words were to call for his “Mom”, who was 3 houses away from where they beat him to death. And, Turley’s already trying to defend these killers, feeding into the alt-right pro-police narrative, all while pretending to be neutral. You jumped the shark a long time ago, Turley, especially when you claim that “justice is being done”. There will never be any justice for this killing. And, the commenters on this blog seem disappointed that the country didn’t break out in riots that they could use to offset the Trump Insurrection.
Not this “the Balck face of white supremacy” nonsense again.
No, this is not racism.
I am not trying to defend the conduct of the cops.
But only an unter left wing moron would try to claim that Black cops killing a black kid is “racism”
Please grow a brain.
First these officers are responsible for their conduct – no one else.
But we should look for other factors – what regarding Memphis PD might have lead to this.
But trying to blame this on racism is moronic.
Thus far the strongest claim is that Memphis was forced to drop recruitment standards after George Floyd riots and defund the police
resulted in mass retirements, early retirements, and departures leaving the MPD woefully short stffed.
Is that established as an incontroverable cause ? No.
Is it a likely cause that needs examined ? Absolutely.
As a result of this we have much discussion about Police reform again.
Good.
But it would be very wise to consider that you can make all the new rules you want.
You can not get anyone to follow them if you are woefully understaffed.
You can not get the good officers that will follow the law and the rules unless you can get back to where people actually want to be police again.
This is a common problem with the left – you think that changing the law actually changes reality.
How many white men have been beaten to death (Nichols) and/or suffocated under the knee of a police officer (Floyd) when they weren’t resisting arrest? The “reality” is, IMHO, that people, primarily males, who have a strong desire to dominate other people and who aren’t smart or wealthy enough to start a business where they can boss people around and/or who want to be able to whale the tar out of someone, and/or to be able to shoot someone with their big boy guns, are attracted to policing, because, by and large, the police literally can get away with murder. The “problem” in the Nichols case is that one of these cops should have stopped the abuse before it went too far, but didn’t. Police officers are supposed to uphold the law, and it’s illegal to beat a man to death or suffocate him. Why did these cops stand around, watching the crime of murder happen and do nothing? They just stood there and watched Nichols getting beaten to death while calling for his Mom. Even the paramedics, some of whom were fired, didn’t treat Nichols’s injuries as important enough to take him to a hospital for 28 minutes. That’s the police culture, and it needs to change. There won’t be change until or unless people who strongly desire to dominate other peole who enjoy the prospect of shooting another person and getting away with it are prevented from being police officers. Nichols was a citizen. He had a right to be protected against being murdered, even if the murderers were other police officers.
Last year 367 unarmed white men were killed by police. That is about 1 every day.
You do not read about it on the news – because it is not unusual.
The reality is that policing involves alot of dealing with violent people. While every police encounter is not violent.
Most are not. But many are. When the encounter turns violent – police get hurt, those they are arresting get hurt.
There are just under 1M police officers in the US each one averages 3 arrest per day
according to Washington posts.
Some of those arrests are violent. Sometimes people get hurt. Sometimes people get killed.
During the 21st century on average abotu 160 officers are killed in the line of duty each year.
In 2020, that was 373, in 2021 that was 472.
How frequently are unarmed white men killed by police ? In my own town it occurs several times ar year.
With 3M arrests per year – how many times do you think the police make honest mistakes ?
1% that would be 30,000 mistaken arrest per year.
If the percent of bad cops is 0.1% – that would still be 3,000 bad arrests per year.
If you were a police officer and you were making about 1000 arrests each year – how many times do you think you would make a mistake ?
I am not defending bad cops, or mistakes.
We should do everything possible to elimiante bad cops and reduce mistakes.
But you are deluded if you think that we are ever going to get perfection
A very common problem where bad things happen – sometimes innocent deaths and the police are usually innocent is SWATTING.
That is when someone calls 911 and falsely reports a dangerous crime usually for the purpose of causing the police to raid someone they do not like.
Marjorie Taylor Green was SWATTED 6 times last year.
Celebrities get SWATTED frequently.
Sometimes SWATTING results in fatalities – rarely armed homeowners are raided by police who do not knock or announce the homeowner shoots the officer. Sometimes they fire and get killed themselves. Sometimes they are not armed and police officers mistakenly kill them.
SWAT calls usually report egregious crimes – the POINT is to get heavily armed police to conduct a shock and awe terror raid.
They report bomb plots, or armed hostage situations. The police break in expecting a very dangerous situation – and someone gets killed.
As I said perfect policing is difficult.
We are never going to acheive perfection. We are never going to have perfect cops.
There is a great deal of evidence that in this particular case Memphis had to relax standards to meet is police staffing requirements after the George Floyd riots, and the result was lower quality police.
What is it that you think Memphis should have done ?
Maintained standards, ended up with a smaller force, more crime, and more murders ?
Or lowered standards fully staffed their force, but had more bad cops, more inexperienced cops and more mistakes ?
I am serious GiGi – how is it that you plan on creating perfection in policing ?
Remembering – we do not have infinite money. We do not have infinite choices for police, that even if we opt to pay well and hie the creme de le creme – we are taking them from other jobs where they are alos needed.
Grow up. The world is not perfect.
We should work to improve it.
But we will never get perfection.
Absolutely many of the people who want to be police are the people we probably do not want to be police.
What do you plan to do about that ?
After the George Floyd Riots and defund the police movements
police departments in major cities all over the country are having problem staffing police departments.
hundreds of thousands of officers retired, took early retirement or went to work for police departments in small town where they did not face the BS and threats and crime that is in major cities.
What do you plan to do about this ?
Do you have a magic want that will get us more and better police ?
One of the things you left wing nuts fail to grasp is that we have to make the world work with the people we have – not the ones we wish we had.
GiGi;
Much of your posts I agree with. There is alot that needs to be done.
Many of those attracted to policing are the people we do not want as police.
There are myriads of reforms that we need.
Where I depart from you – is that we live in the real world.
You can list all the things wrong with policing.
You can even think you know how to fix them.
Better vetting, better training all SOUND excellent.
But what do you do when you have hired all the best people, and trained them well,
and you still do not have enough officers ?
Do you triage your police resources – and watch crime rise ?
Or do you hire some of the officers you would rather not, and have less crime but more bad police ?
In the past 2+ years we have seen a very stark choice.
We can have more George Floyd’s and Tyre Nichols, or we can have more poor people – often young minority kids die as policing declines and violent crime increases.
Police routinely turn off body cams.
They also routinely turn of sound.
They also routinely aim dask cams away from where they are acting.
This is stupid and wrong.
But it is how it is.
As to all your other questions – Why do people do bad things ?
Bad people do bad things.
Sometimes even good people do bad things.
More rarely bad people do good things.
That is how the world is.
The important question here is how to we reduce incidents like this in the future.
Defunding the police, driving people out of the police force will make it worse not better
no matter what rules and policy changes you try.
Police do not routinely turn off body cams in the middle of a pursuit except when they’re in the process of going overboard and they know it. Turning off the cameras in this situation is proof of guilt. As a matter of fact, the best evidence of the most severe aspects of Nichols’ beating came from a street camera, which the killer cops apparently were unaware of. It was recording them kicking him in the face and beating him with a baton while he was on the ground, not fleeing, not resisting. No one has any right to administer a lethal beating to another person who isn’t resisting–NO ONE–not even cops.
I agree.
The use of FORCE ALWAYS must be Justified.
Government is FORCE
When you pass laws against speeding – men with GUNS enFORCE them.
When you pass laws prohibiting the sale of loose cigarettes – men with GUNS enFORCE them.
When you pass laws closing Gyms, or requiring people to mask, or get Vaccines – ultimately men with GUNS enFORCE them.
The police violence you are complaining about is INHERENT to govenrment.
It is GENERALLY more common for those at the bottom to resist enfringement on their rights,
it is also true that those on the top have more options aside from physical resistance.
Regardless the law is enFORCED through Violence when people do not obey.
Our police are therefore the one group within this country that have to engage in VIOLENCE far more frequently than others.
They are going to make mistakes. When they do the results will be bad – even evil.
Further as you noted – Law enforcement is going to attract naturally violent people.
And if it does not attract them itis going to manufacture them.
And again they are going to make mistakes.
We have to figure out how to make this work.
We will have anarchy without law enforcement.
I do not have all the answers for you GiGi.
Because the problem is not EASY and we will not get perfection.
There are many things we can try. But we must watch out for 2nd and 3rd order effects.
The 2020 BLM/defund police riots – even without actually defunding the police, destroyed police moral, resulted in mass retirements and relocations and left most of our major cities with rising crime and violence.
We should have a choice that is not between higher crime or more George Floyd’s and Tyre Nichols.
We can look for that.
I will be happy to discuss options with you.
Frankly in YOUR community that community should be free to try whatever it wants.
My voice regarding policing in YOUR community should be NIL.
Just as YOUR voice in MY community should be silent.
And if your community does better than mine. With certainty we will borrow what you did that succeeded.
Where is there signifcant alt-right effort to justify these officers conduct ?
There are unanswered questions. But nothing is going to make this conduct acceptable.
Just as nothing is going to make it racism.
Try joining reality.
The officers here broke the rules.
They broke the law.
More rules and more laws would not have changed that.
This did not occur because of racism.
It did nto occur because of bad policies.
We should find out why this did occur.
We should think about how do we get the police force we want.
A clue – $hitting over them is not the way.
Absolutely we want police who will follow the law and follow the rules.
But THEY need to be sure that so long as they do – WE will have their back.
This is TWO Way. No one you want as an officier is going to want to be a police officer if they will go to jail if they make a mistake.
We must hold them accountable when they do wrong.
But we can not villify them and piss on them when they so not
Or we will get the police force we deserve rather than the one we want.
GiGi………..No. It is not the “inherent racism” that’s part of police culture. It’s the inherent crime that’s part of the Black culture.
“[T]he inherent racism that’s part of police culture . . .” “The police culture of ‘us vs. them . . .”
There are two options here:
1) The Left does not realize that such bombastic propaganda stokes violent confrotations.
2) It does realize that, and is intentionally stoking violence.
Either way, by such panic-mongering tribalism, the Left will cause more violence.
The “Left” didn’t cause the murders of either George Floyd or Tyre Nichols–the police culture did. Black males are the most-frequent victims of police violence.
Us vs Them does NOT imply racism! In this case its Law Enforcement vs CRIMINAL. That does NOT justify the beating, by lying about “RACISM!” distracts from the REAL problem here: Affirmative action hires that did not qualify either by experience, education, or temperament to be police officers!
The temperament of the Memphis police officers who killed and/or failed to prevent the death of Nichols is the same as white officers–the problem is the culture that attracts people with a strong need to dominate others, mostly men, but who lack the intelligence, education, or wealth to start a business in which they earn the right to dominate other people. They also love the idea of carrying around powerful weapons and shooting people. They don’t view people like George Floyd or Tyre Nichols as people, much less citizens who have rights. Us vs. Them is the police culture. Compare what happens when a cop gets shot with what happens in the cases of Floyd and Nichols or when a regular citizen gets shot–the cops go all out to find the perpetrator when it’s one of their own, but when one of them kills a civilian without just cause, they do nothing, they circle the wagons.
Actually what the tape showed was on the street training being manifested. As in the George Floyd case, where a veteran Minneapolis cop was showing how it’s done to newer cops, this tape highlights the ‘run and get beaten’ mindset of this jump out squad (who shouldn’t have been doing traffic stops). There is what cops are trained in at various academies, and there is what cops are trained in for on the street reality. And the rationale for any number of people getting beaten and/or killed is ‘he reached for my gun’. The prosecution should be all over this at trial.
The George Floyd incident involved a Fentanyl-induced progressive condition that prompted premature exit from the police vehicle, an assembled mob that prevented access by authorized medical personnel, and a trimester of nationwide insurrections, neighborhood incursions, political rackets motivated by Diversity [dogma] (e.g. racism, sexism, ageism),Inequity,Exclusion (DIE) policy.
What happened in this case was officers relaxed their professional standard to follow the “hero” model of civil rights enforcement.
Oh my. Someone’s showing they’re untethered to reality.
I know you are, but what am I?
…yep, lefty – not bad at that… certainly on a par with yours, at least.
If we excuse the bad actions of these cops because “the end justified the means”, then we are no longer a free people. To quote John Bryant “Freedom is scary, deal with it”.
We do not excuse bad actions, Choices, principles, etc. We strive to discern cause and effect in order to mitigate their progress.
Who is looking to excuse the actions of these cops ?
I have not seen the videos. But just the description of events – the “defense” the cops have purportedly made, does not hold up.
If Nichols was driving eradically and cut the cops off, even tried to run them off the road – that is justification for a traffice stop.
It is not a justification for violence or beating him to death.
The big and quite absurd issue that just shows how bat$hit the left is, is that somehow this is supposed to reflect the Black face of white supremecy.
How ludicrously stupid does the left think we all are ?
As Best as I can tell – Memphis lost LOTS of officers as a result of police fleeing their jobs after the antipolice nonsense int he summer of 2020.
Memphis has to lower their recrutment standards and training to fill the void – and these officers ended up getting hired as a result.
Nothing excuses the individual officers.
But that does not change that it appears that declining police quality is the consequence of driving good officiers out of their jobs.
I thought those cops were employed there long before Covid.
It is my understanding they were not.
Regardless, the left may not like this – but it is the good people you lose when you demoralize the police.
They retire or they take jobs in communities where they are appreciated.
Do you actually doubt that if you treat people like $hit you get $hitty people ?
This is one of the reasons govenrment should stay out of hiring and firing.
Bussinesses that make poor hiring and firing decisions – fail.
Whether those decisions are driven by racism, sexism, homophobia or whatever.
B.B. ………also, if you watched the video of Floyd, when he was still inside the squad car, he kept saying: “I can’t breathe” (as he sat upright with no one touching him) That was a symptom of fentanyl overdose. And it was 20 min before he was outside on the curb.
Fentanyl overdose was the original austopsy conclusion.. Then, Ben Crump stopped chasing ambulances long enough to ask Michael Baden to perform a second autopsy “for the family”.. The same Baden who, years before, had been fired as NY chief coroner because of complaints of incompetence made by many, most notably, iconic D.A. Robert Morganthau.
Time for the compensation phase
This will be Attorney Benjamin Crump’s biggest payday yet. The Floyd family got $27 million for 9 minutes of a cop knee on a neck.
The Nichols family saw about 1 hour of cop torture on video. The sky is the limit. As a baseline, use the Alex Jones $1 Billion jury penalty award.
Those men are dead. What was the value of their lives? Can any amount of money make up for the loss of a loved one? Seems that the people that never had a million are the first to begrudge a victim’s family any compensation. The people that honestly made their first million quickly realize how little that million is worth.
We live in a Pro-Choice ethical culture. The people aborted for ethical cause should be compensated. The people who self-aborted by Choice of drug, etc. should not, and serve as warning to mitigate the progress of others.
It is a concept called weregild.
Floyd aborted under a Fentanyl-induced progressive condition. The officer placed a knee on his shoulder blade to manage erratic, injurious movement.
Power Corrupts
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
This comes from acceptence of knowingly violating the rules….because the ends justifies the means. This is going on at he highests levels. Covid lies needlessly killed thousands.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this tragic affair. You brought to light things that perhaps many of us (certainly myself) overlooked with our initial reactions (I thought it was a slam dunk conviction for those five). Honestly, I couldn’t bear to watch the entirety of the videos, quite frankly, I was too disgusted. I haven’t read all the comments to your article, but in other places where it has been discussed, people are actually making “excuses” for the police behavior. Straw dog excuses, “he didn’t follow the directions given to him”, “he didn’t put his hands behind his back”, “he ran away from the police”, “their supervisors should be held accountable”, “this is what happens when you defund the police”, and so on. This disgusting incident should never have happened. This is the result of an “out of control” mindset (maybe “roid” rage) that has been protected by “qualified immunity”. These people are just that, people. If they can’t act like human beings toward another while they are “hiding behind their badge, gun, pepper spray, tasers, batons, and of course qualified immunity”, than they deserve to be punished, strictly and severely. A man lost his life. No amount of money will bring him back. I hope they are convicted on all charges. I hope the prosecutors and jury send a clear message to the country, we will not tolerate it! This behavior must end, no more excuses.
This incident was likely normalized by public excuse of criminal behavior and social divergence, relaxed standards under affirmative discrimination, and concluded with his abortion under Diversity,Inequity,Exclusion (DIE) policy.
The voting record for both Houses of Congress shows that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed the Senate on a 73-to-27 vote. The Democratic supermajority in the Senate split their vote 46 (69%) for and 21 (31%) against. The Republicans, on the other hand, split their vote 27 for (82%) and 6 against (18%). Thus, the no vote consisted of 78% Democrats. Further, the infamous 74-day filibuster was led by the Southern Democrats, who overwhelmingly voted against the act.
An examination of the House vote shows a similar pattern. The House voted 290 to 130 in favor. Democrats split their vote 152 (61%) to 96 (39%) while Republicans split theirs 138 (80%) to 34 (20%). The no vote consisted of 74% Democrats.
Clearly, the 1964 Civil Rights Act could not have been passed without the leadership of Republicans such as Everett Dirksen and the votes of Republicans.
Over half a million died in the civil war to end slavery.
Southern Dems instituted segregation for another 100 years.
Lyndon Johnson lost control of keeping blacks down and started Welfare.
Others later added food stamps, public housing projects etc.
Today over 70% of black children are born to single mothers.
Planned Parenthood locates itself in poor neighborhoods. That is no coincidence considering Margaret Sanger, a bona fide racist, embraced eugenics
Inner city public schools like graduates students without basic skills in the 3Rs.
Inner city parents clamor to get their children into charter schools.
Expansion of charters are blocked by teachers unions and Democrat officials.
Wash. Repeat. Spin.
Racism would barely remain in America if Democrats didn’t continue to keep it alive, because they believe they get political advantage from it.
Democrats just cant quit being racists hence CRT Marxist k-12 curriculums like the one Florida Governor DeSantis and Florida Dept of Education recently rejected.
Yes, Southern democrats, while Northern Dems strongly supported civil rights act. Problem was the region, not the party
Northern Dems then strongly supported Marxist Communism just like today.
As stated, wash, rinse, repeat.
I strongly support the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and was wondering why you oppose it and why do you think the Act is related to Marxist Communism.
A class-disordered ethical religion and progressive prices forced by single/central/monopolistic solutions to sustain dependence on a democratic/dictatorial governing model. Diversity [dogma] (i.e. color judgment, class-based bigotry), Inequity, Exclusion (DIE) is the progressive policy to deny individual dignity, individual conscience, intrinsic value, and normalizes color blocs (e.g. “people of color”), color quotas, and affirmative discrimination.
Jerome………Some yankees, even today, believe the North was morally superior to the South because of slavery. Really? So, yankees never bought cotton products…. clothing? Never wore or bought anything made from cotton that was picked by slaves? Oops.
They were anti-slavery and anti-diversity (e.g. racism). They worked to mitigate the progress of the institution and religion of the Pro-Choice ethical sects. Just as there is no organic in an open environment, there is no purity in an open society. That said, diversity of individuals, minority of one.
The primary Republican opposition to the CRA was that it empowered the regulation of private discrimination which republicans like Barry Goldwater who were otherwise strong supporters refused to vote for.
The mess created by this continues through to today.
You can not have true freedom without tolerating the fact that some people will freely make bad choices.
They will drink to excess,
They will engage in prostitution
They will abuse drugs.
The will discriminate against others.
If you are only free to make the choices the majority think are good – you are not free.
The social contract ceded to government to power to initiate force in return for
punishing those who initiate violence against others (criminal law)
Enforcing the agreements we make with each other (contracts law)
Requiring those that actually harm us to make us whole (tort law).
Government does not exist to force us to be good people.
To make only good choices.
Laws that seek to do so are wrong – immoral.
I appreciate the explanation John. Thanks.
Here is Barry party explaining his vote – as well as the fact that he voted FOR assorted civil rights acts dozens of times before.
The justification for the stop will be carefully reviewed as well as Mr. Nichol’s non-compliance at the beginning of the interaction with the officers. I see no justification for the continued beating of Nichols later during the interaction while he was on the ground however. None. Thank you.
Yes, the progressive treatment is the difference between self-defense and affirmative action, between restraint and abortion, between an officer of the law and a “hero” of Democrat consensus.
I’ve got to disagree with you Mr. Turley on part of this article. The behavior here had nothing to do with “lack of training.”
Things that makes you go hmmm.
Who sets the Narratives for the Gen Pop in the Deep State?
Who could it be that told Ytube to censor Project Veritas & their exposure of current mass attempts at geno*cidy?
How much does Ytube cost Elon Musk?
One guy gets whacked is a tragedy, millions get whacked is a statistic.
https://www.projectveritas.com/
Ok, Occum’s Razor, the wordpress settings on this blog doesn’t like something in that link.
Could be many might think I’m taking this subject to lightly but on the complete flow chart of things this/these events are on the very bottom of the inevitable outcomes of those at the very top of the flow charts of the men running causes of these events.
Who continues to outsource all US jobs that adds to the Gangs being formed selling the out of control dope flooding across the US borders that the gangs are selling for those at the top of the flow chart?
Re: Memphis Blues
FYI, here’s one way to handle a traffic stop. Phucker up LOL;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8YnrQQ4ki4
Sorry, computer/user issue?
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The original:
Could be many might think I’m taking this subject to lightly but on the complete flow chart of things this/these events are on the very bottom of the inevitable outcomes of those at the very top of the flow charts of the men running causes of these events.
Who continues to outsource all US jobs that adds to the Gangs being formed selling the out of control dope flooding across the US borders that the gangs are selling for those at the top of the flow chart?
Re: Memphis Blues
FYI, here’s one way to handle a traffic stop. Phucker up LOL;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8YnrQQ4ki4
3rd time is a charm.
WP sensors must not approve of this link & post.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8YnrQQ4ki4
Re: Memphis Blues
FYI, here’s one way to handle a traffic stop. Phucker up LOL;)
I just read an interesting and informative article by Eugene Robinson in today’s Washington Post on this topic that you may want to check out. One thing he said: The race of the perpetrators in these police killings sometimes matters but the race of the victims always matters.
Ask Eugene if the race of Ashley Babbitt mattered.
I’ve known of Robinson since his days writing for the Boston Globe and in my opinion he has always been a race hustler and a radical race obsessed writer.
That really is unfair description of Robinson who is a long time respected journalist and columnist for the Washington Post and who won the Pulitzer Prize in 2009.
Meant to say “an unfair”
The Washington Post is a propaganda rag for the Progressive party liars.
Your analysis is longevity and a prize. He’s an early AA product.
A pioneer in a process that has given us Obama and Kamala Harris
Robinson is as talented in his craft as this “figure skater” is.
Stop making conclusions on feelings and use objective criteria. Otherwise clown world ensues, just like race hustlers and transwhatever
In 1932 Walter Duranty won the Pulitzer Prize for his positive series on Stalin’s Russia.
The Washington Post was wrong on almost every major event involving Trump during Trump’s four years.
Would you like to tell us why you hold the Pulitzer Prize and the Washington Post in such high regard?
I recommend reading the Eugene Robinson article I referred to. I think you will find this article and others he has written over the years on the topics and news of the day/week to be informative and interesting. He is definitely a liberal columnist and his columns appear in a liberal newspaper, but hopefully that doesn’t stop you from reading his articles. Thanks for your consideration.
I did not comment on Eugene Robinson. My comment was about your comment, “That really is unfair description of Robinson who is a long time respected journalist and columnist for the Washington Post and who won the Pulitzer Prize in 2009.”
Nothing you said would make me want to believe Robinson or any other, whether liberal or conservative. Robinson’s words are in print and are interpreted above by readers. Your appeal to authority excluded Robinson’s words and instead was an appeal to the authority of two organizations whose reputations are soiled.
I was responding in general to a few comments. The comment in question described Robinson as a “race hustler and a radical race obsessed writer” which I don’t think is fair based on the article, his articles on a variety of topics over 30 years, and generally because he is a respected and prize winning journalist and columnist.
Yes, I understand where you were directing your responses and that is fine. I questioned your appeal to authority since the Washington Post today is a rag and Pulitzer’s go to the left even those that thought Stalin was the greatest.
Robinson has to stand or fall on his own merits, but you didn’t provide insight into that.
Diversity (e.g. color) of the officer may matter. Diversity of the offender may matter. However, the conduct of the offender is conclusive.
“second degree murder is “a knowing killing of another.””
Turley might have made the distinction between implied malice vs. express malice. The latter requires intent to kill. The former requires intent to do something showing wanton disregard for another person’s life. So it’s not intent to kill per se. It is, however, 2nd degree murder, and not the same as manslaughter.
I neither defend nor make excuse for police brutality. The video is ugly. Five police officers should be able to physically restrain even a violent non-compliant person, without beating him. I apologize in advance for this long post–
However,
These are just observations of mine:
(1) When the incident was first reported, NBC News- verbatim- stated: “…black man killed by five police officers…” No mention that the race of the officers was known. NBC and ABC then launched into protracted emphasis on the expectation that there would be (and in fact, subliminally encouraging) national “protests,” –with the family’s anticipatory statement calling for “peaceful” protests, which would have immediately attenuated any racial tension. By the time MSM reported that police were also Black, protesters had already started protesting in Memphis and surrounds.
(2) NBC News (along with several others) did the exact same thing with the Asian suspect who killed the ten Asians in California, –immediately going into diatribe-type reporting about “hate crimes against Asian Americans.” –This, -despite the Asian suspect’s racial/ethnic identity being IMMEDIATELY known minutes after the crime, -from surviving witness testimony. Even when video images later appeared on television news, NBC and ABC only referred to “the suspect, who later died of a self-inflicted wound.” THEN, only after all the initial reporting and “hate crime” messaging was completed, he was identified as Asian.
(3) In the present case, Tyre Nichol’s family-retained lawyer, –that wonderful ambulance-chaser/racial carpetbagger Ben Crump, immediately threw in not just Blacks, but “Browns” into his bag of “victims” suffering from police brutality–clearly an effort to create racially-motivated polarity, and trying to stoke a larger body of “victims.”
-Problem is, Hispanic crime is not a glaring statistic, relative to proportional representation in this country. You would never know it by MEDIA, but there are millions, millions more Hispanics in this country than Blacks. How often do we hear or read about them being brutally beaten by police? Why is that??????/
(4) Indeed, in his interview with MSM, Crump said, “You don’t see video of Whites [being beaten like this]…”
In truth, white suspects who flee, resist, or fight with police are also beaten. How much national coverage on MSM was there over the deaths of Zachary Hammond? Tony Timpa? Daniel Shaver? Many Others? Was there international coverage, for days and days on end, over THEIR deaths? Were there protests/rioting/looting/vandalism/fires/marching down freeways and blocking traffic over their deaths? Say their Names. Say Their Names. Say THEIR Names.
(5) I notice in a video that there appears to be a vehicle perpendicularly blocking the front of Tyre Nichol’s car, as police get out of their cars and approach his vehicle from behind. Was his car eluding/fleeing from them ? Were their “flashers” on as they pursued him? Was there a vehicular chase that preceded the initial contact with him being yanked out of his car? The police already appear very angry as they approach his vehicle. Something must have triggered their escalated response, albeit wrongful. (I do not defend their response.)
(6) The bottom line for me is: Who…What Actors/Forces….Are….Stoking…This….”Racial”….Garbage…and to what end?????
What is the end goal here?????
(7) As Diogenes and others have pointed out….just Do what the police tell you….You have your remedies if they did something wrong. I cannot imagine what society would be like if we do not have respect for the law, and comply with those who are trying to enforce it and prevent/contain law-breaking persons. Again, I am NOT defending any wrongful/illegal police conduct.
Apologies for the long post and it took me so long to text this, others may have mentioned the same things. But I could have provided even more in examples/incidents.
(oops. didn’t mean “surviving witness “testimony,” – rather, “surviving witness statements.”) Sorry
lin…..Excellent comment……..Satistically, more whites than blacks are killed annually by police.
As long as there are ambulances, Ben Crump will have a job.
Lin,
Great comment and thank you for pointing that out.
I cut the cord over a decade ago, dont watch MSM, so your observations are informative.
Thank you.
Great comment, Lin. Much of the media wants to see violence, perhaps because it helps ratings. The way they stoke it is by hyping the racial angle even when there is none. I thought the risk of violence here was low, because the cops were all black. There’s only so much wilful blindness people will accept. Mere police brutality is not enough to motivate the burning of cities, no matter how heinous it is.
lin– thank you for the excellent comment. As for the media, I trace the current disgraceful situation back to ABC’s putting Roone Arleldge in charge of both the “News” and “Entertainment” divisions as if they were the same. I do not think the media ever will regain the trust of any Americans who think critically. As for the police officers, I look forward to learning what caused these officers to go so far off the rails, if they ever were on them.