The US Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation into the city of Memphis and its police department, months after the beating death of a 29-year-old Black motorist catapulted local law-enforcement tactics into the national spotlight.
At a news conference on Thursday, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke acknowledged the outrage that followed the killing of Tyre Nichols, who died in hospital after being pulled from his car during a traffic stop, and tackled and assaulted by police.
“In January of this year, the nation witnessed the tragic death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of Memphis police,” Clarke told reporters.
“City and police department leaders recognised the need to scrutinise the police department’s practices to prevent such incidents from ever happening again.”
But Clarke underscored that the investigation was not “based on a single incident or event”, and she described “multiple reports of officers escalating encounters” in the city.
“There are also indications that officers made use of force punitively when faced with behaviour they perceived to be insolent,” she said. “The information we reviewed also shows that officers may use force against people who are already restrained or in custody.”
Source from www.aljazeera.com