Elie Mystal: Cops Lynched Tyre Nichols Because They Knew They Could

[Nevilledog]

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/tyre-nichols-murder-cops-supremacy/

No paywall
https://archive.is/iiqGi

The race of a cop is “cop.” Nobody should have needed to see a video of five Black cops lynching Tyre Nichols to figure that out. Nichols was beaten to death by Black cops (five of whom have been charged with murder); Tasered by a white cop who encouraged the beating (who has been suspended but still not charged); and abandoned by people with a duty to render aid (three Memphis first responders have been relieved of duty) as he slumped, dying of injuries, for 23 minutes until an ambulance showed up on the scene. A goddamn rainbow coalition of “cops” killed that man. Then, a police force made up of a diverse group of people who descended from enslavers, slaves, and slave catchers took to the streets in riot gear and armored personnel carriers to keep Memphis “safe” from people who wanted to protest the brutality of those cops.

All of that should be obvious but, apparently, there are people out here who can’t understand how “Black” cops could commit this act born out of “white” supremacy.

All cops are employed to uphold a system, a system conceived of by white folks, for white folks, that operates to oppress and control Black people. It’s not surprising or even difficult for Black people to participate in the oppression of other Black people, especially when they align themselves with an institution (in this case, the police) instead of working to take down that system. To put it a different way: When a cop says they “bleed blue,” believe them.

That isn’t to say that the race of the cops under their uniform doesn’t matter. Other cops may well care about the race or ethnicity of their fellow officers. We see evidence for this in the tepid response of the police unions to the murder charges brought against the five Black officers. Normally, the police union’s spokespeople run to any camera they can find to defend officers caught performing violence, but not this time. We can also clearly see that the justice system cares about the race or ethnicity of police officers: These five Black officers were fired and charged faster than any white police officer I can remember, including George Floyd’s murderer, Derek Chauvin.

*snip*

[mitch96]

1. They have the guns and they write the reports... They do what they want behind the shadows.nt

[uponit7771]

2. K&R, everyone notices cops murder people and high five each other afterwards **ON VIDEO**

That's a good sign to them murder is normal and they're enabled to do more of it

[BWdem4life]

3. Because they THOUGHT they could.

Even among cops, race matters. Pretty sure a bunch of black cops would have thought twice before beating a white man to death.