"War" to protect rights

The Washington DC police have mobilized their entire force of more than 3,000 people to respond to the escalating tension, in addition to 600 reinforcements on site. Barbed wire has been prepared in areas around the capitol building. Although security has been tightened, the majority of people still feel worried. They have started to limit going out and follow the news more.

Nichols, 29, was pulled from his car on January 7 after police said he was speeding. He was attacked by a group of police officers as he fled. Nichols died three days later in a local hospital. Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis described the officers' actions as "cruel and contemptuous of the law."

A section of 16th Street, right next to the White House, has been officially renamed “Black Lives Matter Plaza” at the request of Mayor Muriel Bowser.

According to the video, the group of police officers repeatedly hit Nichols and ordered him to put his hands up for arrest. But even as several officers pinned Nichols' hands behind his back, another officer continued to punch him. By the time paramedics arrived on the scene, they had not provided emergency aid for 16 minutes.

However, on the day of the incident (January 7), the Memphis Police Department's Twitter account announced: "After two chases, the suspect experienced difficulty breathing. The suspect was transferred to St. Francis Hospital in critical condition."

Nichols' family and attorneys say the video shows police assaulting Nichols for three minutes. Independent forensic results confirmed Nichols lost a lot of blood from the brutal beating.

The officers involved — members of the SCORPION unit created in 2021 to address Memphis' high crime rate — are also black and were charged with murder and other crimes last week.

"Crime prevention is achieved through relationships between police and communities, rather than numbers. Trust can be broken when vulnerable communities are oppressed by units like SCORPION, which were created to protect the community," Sonia Pruitt, retired police chief of Montgomery County, Maryland, told CNN.

On January 28, the Memphis Police Department announced the dissolution of the SCORPION unit. One of the urgent requests from Nichols’ family and social activists is for lawmakers and the government to change policies to create a strict legal corridor after Nichols’ tragic death.

From the White House, President Joe Biden expressed anger and sadness after watching the video, saying it was a reminder of the serious trauma that the black community in America continues to endure.

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