The Tennessee Senate passed a bill to reverse reforms put in place after a black man was killed during an altercation with five officers.
The ordinance being reversed was passed by the Memphis City Council, but the bill to overturn it will apply statewide.
The ordinance outlawed traffic stops for minor violations, such as a broken taillight or failing to use a turn signal. The bill overrides local laws on traffic stops if an officer identifies or has suspicion that the person driving has broken a local ordinance, state or federal law.
State Senator London Lamar, a Democrat from the district where 29-year-old Tyre Nichols was killed, called the legislation a “slap in the face”.
“I pleaded with the sponsor to not run this,” he said. “This is extreme government overreach.”
Republicans in the state said the legislation would reduce crime, citing multiple examples where law enforcement officers stopped violent crimes during traffic stops.
“It’s time to take handcuffs off police and put them on criminals where they belong,” state Senator Brent Taylor said, according to The New York Times.
Nichols’ death occurred in January 2023. After being stopped for a traffic violation, bodycam footage captured five black officers striking him with their feet, fists, and batons for nearly three minutes.
The officers were charged with second-degree murder in state court as well as federal civil rights violations.
The Department of Justice also stepped in to investigate the Memphis Police Department’s practices as a whole.
The city is majority black and suffers from high crime rates and ineffective leadership.
“If we don’t do this, we will further endanger our community,” said Senator Brent Taylor, the Republican bill sponsor from Memphis.
The bill had already passed the state House and now heads to Republican Governor Bill Lee’s desk, where it is expected to be signed into law.
VICTORY
WOKISM in reality is institutionalized Socialism/Communism. Every piece of wokism comes straight out of the “Rules For Radicals”. It is the softening of crimes to increase crime to the point where he public will beg for help. That is when the federal government will step in and federalize the local law enforcement which is exactly what the demoncRATS want. Once that happens and freedom and liberty is flushed down the toilet.
Agree Maxx!
“Take the handcuffs off the police, and put them back on the criminals!” AMEN, AMEN, AMEN!! Obviously the person the officers were beating on had done something to cause their reaction. Sometimes you just get what you ask for!! No, I don’t really believe we should accept police brutality, but we should not “handcuff” them, either. My brother is a former LEO, and he has shared with me many times, how he and his fellow officers faced this kind of behavior from the criminal element, and the energy and intense actions it took to subdue them. So I say, God bless and protect our law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line every day! And I will always be on their side. 🙏
Sen. Lamar says “extreme Gov’t. over reach”. For what? Finally allowing the police to do the job they’re being paid to do? Protecting and serving the public? That even includes you, Lamar. It’s about time. I hope other areas follow this plan. It’ll be safer for all of us. Stand for the Blue.