It was 33 years ago this month that we learned that video evidence wasn’t enough to make an all-white jury convict the police officers who brutally beat Rodney King.
Following a rally at the National Civil Rights Museum, supporters of Tyre Nichols’ family march through Downtown Memphis. (Gary S, Whitlow/Tri-State Defender)
Last week, we learned it again — when three of the former Memphis officers accused in the beating death of Tyre Nichols were cleared of criminal charges brought by the State of Tennessee. This, despite multiple bodycam and Skycop footage showing Nichols’ fate.
Nichols’ family members were silent in the immediate aftermath of the bombshell verdict. But on Thursday afternoon, with raindrops masking tears, they made their feelings known at a gathering at the National Civil Rights Museum. Kiana Dixon, Tyre’s older sister, spoke first — and didn’t hold back.
“I thought that having video of them beating my brother to death would be enough, but it wasn’t,” she said. “Not guilty. Not guilty. Not guilty, over and over again, for everything they did, everything the world saw they did to my brother. They clearly didn’t look at the evidence.
“Or maybe they did — and they just didn’t give a f*ck!” she said, near tears.
City and its people still processing stunning verdict
As clouds rolled in over the National Civil Rights Museum. Nichols’ family stood before a crowd of hundreds, braving the rain, their grief and a justice system they say has failed them again.
The verdict, delivered by a majority-white jury from Hamilton County, cleared Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith of all charges, including second-degree murder.
The jury was picked from outside Shelby County because of defense concerns about media saturation and bias — an argument the family rejected.
“They said we weren’t smart enough here in Memphis to make an impartial decision,” said RowVaughn Wells, Nichols’ mother. “So they went to Hamilton County, where they didn’t care enough to see the truth.”
“Justice for Tyre!”—even in the rain
The sky opened up just as the family began to speak. But the crowd — nearly 300 strong — held its ground against the rain, shouting “Justice for Tyre!” and raising fists as the storm rolled over Downtown Memphis.
One by one, family members took the mic: Kiana. Then LaToya Yiza, the younger sister. Then Rodney Wells, Tyre’s stepfather. Then RowVaughn. Each voice carried a different note — anger, pain, disbelief, resolve. But all pointed to the same conclusion: This isn’t over.
“I’m not devastated. I’m disgusted,” LaToya said. “The justice system failed us again. But this fight doesn’t stop here.”
Mayor and Chief respond: “We will heal together”
On the night of the verdict, Mayor Paul Young and Police Chief C.J. Davis released a joint video statement urging calm and promising continued reform.
“Today, my prayers are with the Nichols family and our entire city,” Young said. “I understand the pain we’re feeling as a life was lost at the hands of officers whose actions don’t reflect the values of our Memphis Police Department. Memphis is still healing, and that healing demands that we work together.”
Davis, who was police chief in the previous administration and created the controversial SCORPION unit that the acquitted officers belonged to, echoed Young’s remarks.
“Policing in Memphis must always be ever-evolving and continuously improving, and I am confident that our team is ready to further the work of creating ongoing change,” she said. “As I have stated before, we believe in improved policing, in training, and in progress we are seeing daily.
“We recognize the pain and grief this incident has caused, and the men and women of the Memphis Police Department remain committed to rebuilding trust and working together toward a stronger, safer Memphis for all,” she added.
Unforgiving crowd
Those calls for calm and progress didn’t land well for many in attendance Thursday. Multiple speakers and members of the crowd directly called out Young and Davis by name, criticizing their “scripted” statements and perceived lack of accountability.
“Fire CJ Davis!” one person shouted from the crowd.
“Mayor Young needs to resign!” came another.
From the stage, speakers accused city leadership of failing to push for deeper reforms after Nichols’ death and questioned why the SCORPION unit — whose officers were involved in the beating — was ever allowed to operate with such force.
Activists expressed frustration with the city’s resistance to transparency and community oversight, and they demanded answers about why reforms have been slow, uneven or hidden from public view.
“Grace ain’t forever.”
Rodney Wells, Tyre’s stepfather, didn’t hide his disappointment with the verdict, the city and the system that delivered it.
“This has been a long, long journey,” he said. “How the hell do we have a trial and not one count? Not one out of 21?”
He also revealed something unexpected: that the family had once considered relocating to Chattanooga, where the jury came from to avoid alleged bias in Memphis.
“We were thinking about moving to Chattanooga. But not anymore,” he said. “To hell with even visiting.”
Then he added, almost incredulous:
“There are Black people in Chattanooga. You mean to tell me you couldn’t find even one for that jury?”
Wells also pushed back against what he called the public’s overuse of the word “grace” to describe how his wife had carried herself in the wake of their son’s death.
“It was her grace that gave this city peace,” he said. “When the activists wanted to burn this city down, she told them no. But let me tell y’all something: Grace ain’t forever. Y’all don’t have any more grace with this family.”
“I’m going to make my son right.”
RowVaughn Wells didn’t just learn that her son had been beaten to death — she felt it.
“I felt pain the night my son was being beaten,” she said. “I didn’t know what it was at the time, but now I know. A mother knows when her child is in trouble.”
She described the heartbreak of watching the videos — of hearing her son call out for her as officers kicked, punched and struck him. Then came the added agony of realizing that even that video footage wasn’t enough to bring her family justice.
“I thought surely, this time, the video would be enough,” she said. “But it wasn’t.”
As the raindrops finally broke up the press conference, it didn’t break up the movement. Dozens of attendees marched through downtown Memphis shouting, “Justice for Tyre.”
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