Lori Falce: Bad actions hurt good police and all communities

Tyre Nichols was 29 years old the day he was stopped by police officers in Memphis.

Body cam videos released by the police department showed an agonizingly long process that led to his death. He was dragged from his vehicle. He was beaten and Tased and pepper-sprayed. He broke free and ran, and he paid for that with his life when he was caught and the savage attack continued with more officers.

The actual beatings, just yards from his mother’s front door, took minutes. It took him three days to die.

The call from Black leaders about the continued trauma and racism of assaults on Black people — particularly young men — even at the hands of Black officers like the five who have been charged is ringing loudly. The protests have been peaceful, unlike many previous incidents, which may be because of the way Memphis has responded.

I cannot speak to the race issue. I am not a Black mother. I do not have a Black son. I ache for Nichols’ mother and her loss — and for my Black friends who are experiencing all-too-familiar grief and anger. But I am insulated from the full force of it by the color of my skin. I know that.

But what I can point out is the impact on other police and, by extension, the people they protect.

Actions like those of Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills, Emmitt Martin, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean, all of whom were fired Jan. 20, did not just damage the body of Nichols and the hearts of his family. They didn’t just strike the soul of their community.

They hurt the police.

Police departments are not having an easy time filling spots. In Pittsburgh, officials are saying the low numbers are creating a “tipping point,” and that’s not a good thing when you have as many shooting deaths as the city has seen in the past year.

The bad actions of individual officers contribute to the feelings about police departments across the map. They create animosity and distrust. They belie the “protect and serve” mantra.

And they betray good, upstanding police officers.

While there is a lot of talk about the brotherhood of police standing up for those who have been charged in places like Minneapolis or Columbus or Dallas, there is not enough acknowledgment of the other responsibility. Why do we not talk more about how bad police actions affect their fellow officers?

Good police stand between our communities and crime. They do it unselfishly, and that deserves respect from their brethren and communities more than rallying around bad actions.

Less respect contributes to lower numbers. That rolls over to fewer people standing up to real crime. The breadcrumbs aren’t hard to follow. Assaults like that in Memphis make it harder to keep communities safe, regardless of color.

That seems to be a lesson Memphis has learned. The chief was one of the first to say there is no evidence of any wrongdoing on the part of the victim. In-house consequences were quick and are continuing with additional involved first responders. The Nichols family attorney called the response a template for how such incidents should be handled.

But the real lesson learned would be for Nichols to be the last such incident.