Black Cops, White Justice?

Let’s acknowledge that the summary firing and subsequent indictment of five Memphis police officers for the brutal murder-by-beating of Tyree Nichols, a young Black man, is a good measure of justice – as pointed out by lawyer Ben Crump, an example that will give less cover to the police chiefs and prosecutors who almost invariably give a free pass to murderous cops.

Let’s also not pretend that the five charged police officers aren’t Black themselves. How convenient is it to make an example out of them, while the murderers of Michael Brown, Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, Stephon Clark and thousands of others have not been held accountable?

Is the November 2011 summary execution of Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr., who was shot to death in his own home after white cops shouted racist epithets, broke down his door and killed him within seconds of illegally entering – all because his “Life Alert” pager had accidentally been set off – any less heinous than the vicious beating to death of Tyree Nichols? And what has happened to those cops?

Nothing.

Justice for All, Now! End Qualified Immunity!

Fred Baumgarten is a writer living in western Massachusetts.