More disciplinary action may be coming now that the harrowing video of Tyre Nichols' treatment has been released. The Memphis police department is among many U.S. law enforcement agencies with 'duty to intervene' policies. Memphis police relieved two other officers of duty Monday and say the department is still investigating what happened.
As five Memphis police officers attacked Tyre Nichols with their feet, fists and a baton, others milled around at the scene, even as the 29-year-old cried out in pain and then slumped limply against the side of a car.
The Memphis and Minneapolis police departments are among many U.S. law enforcement agencies with "duty to intervene" policies. The Memphis protocol is clear: "Any member who directly observes another member engaged in dangerous or criminal conduct or abuse of a subject shall take reasonable action to intervene."
"They're afraid of being ostracized," said George Kirkham, a criminology professor emeritus at Florida State University and former police officer. "You've got to depend on those guys. It's the thin blue line. When you get out there and get in a jam, you've got nobody else to help you but other cops."
Officers pull Nichols to his feet, though he's barely able to stand. An officer punches him in the face, and Nichols stumbles, still held up by two officers. After more punches, he collapses. But the attack continues. "But having a policy and overcoming what many would argue is the culture in policing are two different things," Wexler said. "It's not enough to simply have a policy. You need to practice. You need to talk through it."In Buffalo, New York, Officer Cariol Horne was a year away from collecting her pension when she faced departmental charges after pulling a fellow officer's arm from around the neck of a domestic violence suspect in 2006. She was fired.
"I was a supervisor for a long time, and you showing up on the scene even unannounced keeps people from doing, for lack of a better adjective, stupid things," said former New York City Police Sgt. Joseph Giacalone, who teaches at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.
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