Police reforms enacted after Tire Nichols’ death will end if Tenn. Gov. will sign the bill

“While I empathize with the Wells family and the Tire Nichols family,” said Sen. Brent Taylor, the bill’s Republican sponsor, “we cannot allow that empathy to cloud our judgment in protecting 7 million Tennesseans.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Legislation to roll back police traffic stop reforms enacted after the fatal beating of Tire Nichols by officers last yr now heads to Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee, despite emotional pleas for an end to the measure from Nichols’ family and accusations that ​​this proposal constitutes “an extreme overreach by the government.”

For weeks, the Republican-controlled Tennessee Statehouse has been steadfast in rescinding an ordinance passed by the Memphis City Council that included a ban on so-called pretextual traffic stops for minor offenses similar to a broken taillight. The bill would apply statewide and prohibit any local restrictions on traffic stops when an officer observes or reasonably suspects that somebody in a automobile has violated a neighborhood ordinance or state or federal law.

House Republicans approved the measure last week, and Senate Republicans passed the proposal on Thursday with just six Democrats in the chamber voting against it.

“I begged the sponsor not to do it,” said Sen. London Lamar, a Memphis Democrat whose district includes where Nichols was killed. “Because it’s a slap in the face. Not only for our city council, but for all local governing bodies in this state, because we are telling them that you are not smart enough to decide the policies that will help run your own city.”

“This is extreme government overreach,” Lamar added.

Nichols’ death in January 2023 sparked outrage and calls for reform at the national and native levels. Video footage shows an almost three-minute series of blows with fists, feet and a baton to Nichols’ face, head, back and front as the 29-year-old black man screamed at his mother a block from the home.

The five officers, who’re also black, were charged in state court with federal civil rights violations, second-degree murder and other crimes. One pleaded guilty in federal court. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating how Memphis Police Department officers use force and make arrests and whether the department in the majority-Black city engages in racially discriminatory policing.

Even though many members of Tennessee’s majority-white House of Representatives expressed shock and outrage at Nichols’ death at the time, a lot of those self same lawmakers largely criticized the way Memphis – a majority-black city – handled crime rates and expressed distrust of the response from black city leaders.

“If we don’t do this, we will put our community at even greater risk,” said Sen. Brent Taylor, the bill’s Republican sponsor from Memphis.

Governor Lee has not publicly commented on the laws, but since taking office, a Republican has not once issued a veto.

The Memphis City Council implemented the changes with the support of activists and Nichols’ family. The changes were made after many individuals cited an officer’s report that Nichols had been stopped for driving into oncoming traffic, but this was later denied by Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis, who said there was no evidence of that that Nichols was driving recklessly.

“Memphis is, so to speak, an independent city. It’s like no other town in Tennessee. They’re mostly black,” Rodney Wells, Nichols’ stepfather, told reporters. “Fair is fair. We worked too hard to get this passed for it to be overturned like this.

Taylor defended moving forward with legislation over the Nichols’ concerns, arguing that “shutdown” was in everyone’s “best interest.”

“As a funeral director and someone who has seen death every day for 35 years, I understand better than most the pain and suffering this family is going through,” Taylor said. “While I sympathize with the Wells family and the Tire Nichols family and the loss of Tire, we cannot allow that empathy to cloud our judgment in protecting 7 million Tennesseans.”

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Police reforms enacted after Tire Nichols’ death will come to an end if the bill is signed by Tenn.’s governor. will appear first on TheGrio.