Civil rights attorney Ben Crump doubled down on calling the beating death of Tyre Nichols racially motivated on Sunday.
Crump is representing Nichols’s family in the aftermath of his death. Nichols was beaten by five police officers that have since been fired from the Memphis Police Department and charged with second-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping. The 29 year old, who was unarmed and would go on to die of his injuries days later. Crump appeared on ABC’s This Week with Martha Raddatz to share his thoughts on what should happen in the wake of such a tragedy.
“In my 25 years of doing this civil rights law all across America, Martha, it is not the race of the police officer that is the determining factor whether they’re going to engage in excessive use of force, but it is the race of the citizen,” Crump said. “Oftentimes, it’s the black and brown citizens that bear the brunt of the brutality.”
MEMPHIS POLICE DISSOLVE STREET CRIMES UNIT WHOSE OFFICERS BEAT TYRE NICHOLS
Crump also notably represented Trayvon Martin, a teenager who was shot and killed by a stranger, George Zimmerman, in 2012, along with others who have suffered from police brutality.
Nichols’s mother RowVaughn Wells is having trouble sleeping, according to Crump. Wells initially set up a GoFundMe with the goal of raising $800,000 to cover their time off from work in order to “turn our full-time attention to seeking proper justice for our son” and their mental health services. After it surpassed their goal, they raised the goal to one million dollars in order to build a skate park in their son’s honor as he loved the sport. It has since surpassed one million dollars in donations.
Crump also expressed relief that the Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods unit was permanently dissolved by the Memphis Police Department. Former officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith belonged to the special force, also known as the SCORPION unit.
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The SCORPION unit made over 566 arrests and seized over $103,000 in cash and 253 weapons in three months since its organization in November 2021, according to Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland (D). Crump alleged he knew others who had been injured by officers of the unit.
