Students and Staff Reflect on the Death of Tyre Nichols

By Keyon Gardner | Published February 9, 2023

Just one week into the new year, police brutality has continually been shaking the United States which has sparked nationwide protests.  

Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man from Memphis, Tennessee was brutally beaten by five Black male police officers on Jan. 7, 2023, after being stopped for reckless driving according to police reports. 

Nichols died three days later due to the extent of his injuries leaving behind his 4-year-old boy.

His son will now have to grow up without a father whose life was taken from men who were sworn to protect the citizens of the U.S., men that shared the same skin color as him and his father.

The mass public was outraged once videos of the violent confrontation were uploaded online.

The city of Memphis released body cam footage and street camera footage of the five officers punching, kicking, and using a baton to beat Nichols until he was unconscious and unable to respond. 

President Joe Biden watched the videos and said in a statement, “yet another painful reminder of the profound fear and trauma, the pain, and the exhaustion that Black and brown Americans experience every single day.”

Money is taken out of our taxes to help fund police organizations that can’t seem to educate their men on proper police etiquette.

Zaniyah Smith, a junior majoring in Psychology and minoring in Women and Gender studies, and also a member of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion department shared her concern that she is not comfortable with being around police officers and does not trust that they will have her safety in mind.

“Before you had the fear of it only being white officers but now that it is Black officers, I’m fearing all officers, anybody in a uniform I don’t want you near me even though your job is to protect and serve me I don’t feel comfortable,” Smith said. 

Another student, Dyquan Waters, a sophomore in English education with a minor in Africana studies who is also a part of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion department expressed his concern for the videos that were released of the five officers beating Nichols. 

“I knew that though they shared the footage I did not want to watch it because it adds to the trauma that I feel as a Black man,” Waters stated.

Waters added that he already feels unsafe driving through conservative towns in New Jersey that aren’t as diverse. 

Just seven days in the new year and there has already been another incident involving police abuse of power and another unarmed black man that adds to the stain on America’s legacy and its blatant open systemic racism towards anybody who is black, brown, and Latino. 

Professor Alexander J. Sepulveda, a professor in the department of criminal justice, expresses his concern about the terrible incident and hopes that criminal justice majors at Kean are in class with people who are from multiple ethnic backgrounds. 

He also believes that criminal justice should not only be taught to people who are interested in policing.

 “Our students need to know the law whether they are going for law school or to be a police officer,” said Sepulveda.  

Sepulveda agreed that the entire policing system is a power trip for some officers and believes that police departments are like “mini gangs”. 

“To be 18-30 years of age for a Black and Latino male in the U.S. is to also be a Target,” He said.

The five officers in connection to the beating of Nichols have all been charged with multiple felonies and have been fired.

Though accountability and action have been brought into place, systemic and institutionalized racism has seemingly been an ongoing issue. Kean NPHC held a candle-lighting memorial at the clock tower on the day of his funeral to honor and remember the life of Tyre Nichols. 

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