Queens mourns police killing of Tyre Nichols
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An emotional Borough President Donovan Richards speaks on the steps of Borough Hall during a vigil for Tyre Nichols on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach
By Ryan Schwach
Queens locals, officials and community leaders gathered on the steps of Queens Borough Hall on Monday night for an emotional vigil for Tyre Nichols, the Black man who was killed by Memphis police officers after they excessively beat him during a traffic stop earlier this month.
“Tyre Nichols was 29 years old, father of a four year old, photographer, FedEx worker, a son – you didn't deserve that, 66 minutes of hell,” said a visibly emotional Borough President Donovan Richards. “It doesn't matter why he was stopped, he didn't deserve to die. You didn't deserve that, his family didn't deserve that.”
Nichols was pulled over in Memphis, allegedly for reckless driving, and was immediately confronted by officers with their guns drawn, shouting for him to get on the ground and give them his hands, even after he had complied with both those demands. After officers attempted to pepper spray and taser him, he fled from the police, who eventually caught up to him and punched and kicked him repeatedly, also hitting him with their batons. Video from the Memphis Police Department, which was released on Friday, showed Nichols sitting against a police car for several minutes unattended until an ambulance arrived.
He died three days later in the hospital, and the five officers were fired and charged. Two other officers and two EMTs have also been fired for their inaction the night of Nichols’ killing on Jan 7.
“There's a lot of work to be done,” Richards said. “He was black and blue. [His mother] said his head was the size of a watermelon. It took 20 minutes for an ambulance to show up. You tell me Black lives matter in this country.”
After Richards spoke, Monday’s vigil became more of a public forum, an open mic of community members and leaders taking turns discussing their personal pain, expressing their feelings for the Nichols family, and reflecting on the intensity of the body-worn camera videos, which showed excessive violence over 30-plus minutes of footage.
“I’m very heart broken,” said Julianne Williams, a Queens resident who said she herself has lost a 21-year-old daughter. “I’ve been crying, grieving for his mother.”
Queens City Councilmember Shekar Krishnan said that beyond the charges brought against the officers involved in Nichols’ murder, reforms to policing in New York City and nationwide are needed.
“We also know that there's so much to do – the officers responsible for this horrific, reprehensible murder must be held fully accountable,” Krishnan said. “We must finally reckon with a system that is fundamentally broken.”
In the days before the vigil, Richards, who passed a number of laws as a member of the City Council aimed at increasing police accountability, called out NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, who he said has been weakening some of the NYPD’s accountability measures, including its disciplinary matrix.
“Scaling back punishments for police officers who have broken the law, failed to uphold their duty to the residents of this city or otherwise require disciplinary action, is antithetical to the ongoing efforts of the NYPD, elected officials and others to enhance the police-community relationship and build trust,” Richards wrote in a letter to Sewell.
Richards said Sewell’s actions could erode public confidence in the police and embolden officers with a “penchant to not follow proper procedure.”
Richards doubled down on those statements Monday night.
“She was weakening discipline laws, regulations within a department should not do that,” he said. “It's about one standard. One law that works for everyone.
“So, from Memphis, to New York City, from Memphis to Queens, we will continue to stay vigilant because our lives depend on it,” he added.
Richards also called for the end of qualified immunity, which protects police officers from individual liability.
Queens residents attend a vigil for Tyre Nichols at Queens Borough Hall on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach
Lori Zeno, the executive director of the Queens Defenders, who arrived in a large group with signs and candles of their own, called on the NYPD to get rid of officers who rack up multiple infractions.
“Go through your files from the [Civilian Complaint Review Board], find out how people have complained and how many people have complained about your officers who are working now and then get rid of them,” she said.
“We have a police department, which is not all of the police, but many of our police are brutal,” she added. “And they think that if they are stopping you or you are in their way, or you're Black or you're Brown, that you're less than, that you don't have a right to live, you don't have a right to be treated like a human being.”
Others who attended but didn’t speak, wanted to come and show their support as well.
“We just came in from George Floyd in 2020, and then now for this to happen three years later, after everything that has settled and died down with Black Lives Matter and all the other situations, it's going to be a domino effect,” said Jason Rodriguez, a program director with King of Kings, an anti-violence group that operates in Southeast Queens.
Rodriguez said that the swift punishment for the officers involved is indicative of some change.
“I think it was the right thing to do,” he told the Eagle. “Justice was actually served, they were wrong, and will still have to pay for what they did.”
Jennifer Cuascut, who works for Queens Defenders, came looking for change, as well.
“The whole situation is horrible,” she said. “It might never stop, but we stick together and try to make a change.”
