A protest was underway in Dallas Friday night in response to the death of Tyre Nichols, a man who died three days after being beaten by police officers in Memphis, Tennessee during a traffic stop.
Dallas-based advocacy group the Next Generation Action Network announced Friday they planned to gather with supporters outside Dallas Police Headquarters on Botham Jean Boulevard at 6:30 p.m.
Together, some watched the videos released by the city of Memphis showing the beating of Nichols.
“When I saw that video, my heart just melted at how they repeatedly, repeatedly hit and kicked this young man, who was obviously scared. He was obviously scared. He was calling for his mother. And for me, it broke my heart," said Antong Lucky.
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Minister Dominique Alexander, with NGAN, said he organized the protest in Dallas because of unresolved issues he said persist between the Black community and police.
"So many people in America like to reflect on the legacy and life of Martin Luther King and when so many people say, 'Why does it matter here in Dallas? Why are we protesting in Dallas? Why are we reacting?' in his words, 'A threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,' since you like to quote Dr. King all the time," Alexander said.
Alexander said Friday they hoped to draw attention to problems that exist within the culture of policing that encourage bad apples, regardless of the officer's color.
"Take a lesson from Memphis. Take a lesson from what that police chief said. There is a problem on the force when the training and development of our officers, that we pay for with our tax dollars, leads to a Black man beat down to a pulp. Leads to a Black man having a traffic [stop] and then waking up, never," said Tamara Neal with the Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights.
Dallas Chief of Police Eddie Garcia said during a news conference on Friday afternoon that his department stands with the community and that they, too, are frustrated by another act of violence that tarnishes the trust of police departments across the country but that any protest in the city must remain peaceful.
"We stand alongside our community for justice. We want people to have that opportunity to vent but to do so peacefully," Garcia said. "We're not going to tolerate lawlessness. Violence is not the answer. We're doing our best to prepare for that possibility if it occurs, but we don't want that to happen. We hope it's peaceful here."
Terrance Hopkins, president of the Black Police Association of Dallas, is approaching his 33rd year with the Dallas Police Department. As he reflects on his career, he said there is nothing he would change about his career choice.
However, Hopkins said it's not an easy career.
"Now we have these isolated incidents, what it appears to be of major malfunctions in officer groups. I didn’t see that component as a young officer, the way I see it now," Hopkins said.
Part of the work within the Black Police Association of Dallas includes bridging the gap between law enforcement and Black communities, he told NBC 5.
"Everybody says when we have one of these horrific incidents, it will set us five or ten years back. It basically looks like that’s the way we’re operating. We’re not," he said. "The majority of law enforcement will go out there and do their job admirably, day to day."
VIDEO OF BLACK MOTORIST BEATEN BY OFFICERS TO BE RELEASED
Five former Memphis police officers, who are all Black, were charged with second-degree murder this week, and other counts related to the death of Tyre Nichols, a Black motorist who died three days after a confrontation with officers.
Nichols' family and their lawyers viewed the footage on Monday and said it shows officers savagely beating the 29-year-old FedEx worker for three minutes in an assault that the legal team likened to the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King. His family urged supporters to protest peacefully.
Video of Nichols' fatal beating is expected to be released by Memphis officials Friday evening. Family attorney Antonio Romanucci described the video as an “unadulterated, unabashed, nonstop beating” for three minutes.
“Let me be clear: What happened here does not at all reflect proper policing. This was wrong. This was criminal,” said David Rausch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, during a news conference.
