Jan 31, 2023 2 min read

Thankful for body cameras on police officers

Thank heavens there are now body cameras for police officers in many jurisdictions throughout the country. Without it, we would not have firsthand information about how Tyre Nichols was brutalized by Memphis, Tenn., police officers and would likely not ever have been able to secure justice for Nichols and his family.

How can it continue to happen that police officers commit acts against Black men which result in their deaths? How could five Black officers beat a Black man to a pulp? How could their rage against him have taken place with them knowing that their cameras were rolling?

Memphis authorities have handled this ugly event exceedingly well, immediately firing the five officers and subsequently filing second degree murder charges against them. Nichols’ grieving mother said it all when she stated that no mother should have to endure what she is going through. The family of Nichols is deserving not only of our sympathy, but commendation for urging those who are outraged by their loved one’s death to protest peacefully, not to burn down their city or to engage in looting.

The name of Tyre Nichols is now etched in our consciousness forever, along with other victims of police savagery like Rodney King and George Floyd. May his death not have been in vain. May a powerful lesson have finally been learned.

Oren Spiegler

Peters Township