Screaming for His Mother and They Continued to Beat Him - Raymond Two Hawks Watson

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Raymond Two Hawks Watson, MINDSETTER™

Two weeks ago, the nation was once again placed into a state of collective shock and outrage as the footage of the brutal beating death of Mr. Tyre Nichols at the hands of officers from the Memphis Police Department went public. Personally, I’ve chosen to not view the gruesome footage; particularly when I was informed that, at one point, Mr. Nichols was screaming for his mother as the officers continued to brutalize him. The thought turns my stomach.

 

Unfortunately, in many communities, similar experiences of law enforcement misconduct happen far too often to be shocking anymore. I might go as far as to say that in many communities, it’s behavior that’s expected . . . which, in my opinion, is completely unacceptable, and is why I continue to be such a critique of unprofessional policing and advocate for more effective reforms to address misconduct on the part of law enforcement.

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Personally, what was most shocking about Mr. Nichols' situation was how quickly the officers involved were held accountable for their actions. The optics are quite telling; most of the accused officers are black. However, for the sake of furthering the discussion, let’s imagine beyond the obvious and look at the details of what transpired.
 

Mr. Nichols was brutalized on January 7, 2023, and died three days later because of the injuries he sustained. Within three weeks of Mr. Nichol’s death, the officers involved were fired, charged with second-degree murder, indicted by a grand jury, and booked into the Shelby County jail with bail amounts ranging from $250,000 to $350,000. All this despite Tennessee having a Tennessee Police Bill of Rights enacted. Beyond this, there seemed to be a collective sentiment from both law enforcement and the general community that what the officers did to Mr. Nichols was wrong, and that the officers should be held accountable for their actions.

 

I was shocked because what I witnessed most certainly isn’t the response that I’m used to when it comes to allegations of misconduct on the part of local Rhode Island law enforcement. In my experience, the process usually starts with a complete denial of the charges in defense of the accused officers until some evidence is exposed that calls the denial into question. Then the response usually shifts from an outright denial to a “let’s wait until all of the facts come out before we jump to any conclusions.” sort of strategy. Ultimately, there will be months of further investigation that could potentially lead to some form of accountability; but most often, the charges are either dismissed by the Rhode Island Attorney General or by a court of law who determine that… duh, duh, duhhhhhhh… the officers were acting within the scope of their duty. In Providence, we can also extend this same behavior to the Providence External Review Authority. The Rhode Island way always reigns supreme.
 

 

Now, I’m sure I’m going to get some pushback on my last paragraph, so let me take a moment to remind you of a few examples to help jog your memory. How about Providence Police Sergeant Joseph Hanley, who punched and kicked a handcuffed man in public and then fabricated a story on the stand when defending himself? His video footage was delayed months before being shown to the public. What about in 2021, when an officer pummeled and spit at a teen suspect upon arresting him? The officer in question was acquitted by a grand jury despite testimony from an expert that the officer’s initial strikes were excessive and unreasonable. Let’s not forget when Providence Police followed—not chased—Mr. Jamhal Gonsalves, a Narragansett Indian, down Elmwood Avenue for riding an ATV, a decision that ultimately resulted in Mr. Gonsalves suffering major injuries after being struck by a stop sign that was it during his pursuit. There was also Providence Police Officer Jeann Lugo, who was acquitted of assaulting an unarmed political rival at a Roe- v Wade rally despite being off-duty and despite not announcing that he was an officer before striking the woman several times. However, let’s not just point the finger at Providence. Off-duty and out-of-uniform Pawtucket Police Officer Daniel Dolan was recently acquitted of three counts of felony assault and one count of discharge of a firearm when committing a crime of violence related to shooting into a car full of unarmed teenagers.

 

None of the previous examples received the same level of swift justice or scrutiny that was collectively demonstrated in Mr. Nichols' death. True, the previous examples did not result in a man being beaten to death on camera. But is beating to death the standard Rhode Islanders have adopted for holding law enforcement accountable for obvious misconduct? Do Rhode Islanders only demand high levels of professionalism and accountability from law enforcement when it’s an extreme tragedy? Is there a sliding scale of accountability that increases the more heinous the misconduct of the officers are?  If it’s just a little misconduct, do Rhode Islanders give the misconduct a pass? Or is professionalism the minimum that Rhode Islanders expect from their law enforcement officers at all times no matter what?

 

I know which side of the question I’m on; that’s while you’ll continue to hear me be critical of law enforcement officers every time I become aware of their unprofessionalism or misconduct. There should be a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to misconduct by law enforcement. Why you ask? Well, to put it quite frankly, I don’t want to see any of my family, friends, or acquaintances beat death while desperately screaming for their mother to come to help them before Rhode Islanders decide to set some proper boundaries. The thought completely turns my stomach.

 

So let me ask, “What will it take for Rhode Islanders to treat law enforcement professionalism and accountability seriously?” Or is everyone going to do it #TheRhodeIslandWay and wait until Rhode Island has its own Tyre Nichols situation before finally deciding to make these issues a priority? Time will tell, I do suppose…

 

My Three Cents

 

Raymond Two Haws Watson, J.D., M.C.P.

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