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Gillespie postpones bill overturning Memphis ordinance to end police ‘textual’ stops • Tennessee Lookout [1]
['Sam Stockard', 'More From Author', '- March']
Date: 2024-03-05
Tyre Nichols’ parents urged House lawmakers Monday to drop legislation that would subvert Memphis’ efforts to end minor traffic stops that can escalate into deadly police-involved incidents.
“I am just appalled by what Republicans are trying to do in this state,” Rodney Wells said in a Monday press conference, shortly before he and his wife, RowVaughn Wells, attended the House session, where they were recognized and honored.
Subsequently, Rep. John Gillespie, R-Bartlett, postponed his bill designed to stop local governments from passing rules limiting law enforcement officers from “detecting and preventing crime.” The measure could be amended before coming back to the House floor Thursday.
Shortly before Monday’s session started, Gillespie was adamant about continuing to push the measure. But he requested to place it at the end of Monday’s agenda, and then Rep. Ryan Williams, R-Cookeville, asked that it be postponed until Thursday.
Before the postponement, Gillespie said, “We’re simply saying a state law that’s been on the books for decades is what we’re going by here. And if there are people that have problems with what state law is, then maybe they should change state law instead of enacting local ordinances that are in conflict with state law.”
The Senate bill is sponsored by Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, who is spearheading a spate of tough-on-crime bills.
Nichols died in January 2023 after being stopped for reckless driving and beaten by police officers, spurring local requests for a federal investigation of local police policies. The Memphis City Council passed an ordinance last April bringing an end to “pretextual” stops for minor violations such as a bad tail light. Stops are to be made only for primary violations.
Nichols’ parents said Monday none of the “excuses” police gave for stopping their son “panned out.”
Five officers were charged in connection with Nichols’ death, and one pleaded guilty last November to federal and state charges.
“All they’re doing is harassing the Black citizens of Memphis,” Mrs. Wells said.
Likewise, Mr. Wells argued that police are “discriminating” against people of color, and, as a result, “too many parents are going through what we’re going through – senselessly.”
They said Memphis police were involved in a shooting Monday morning in which officers said a man reached for their weapons, forcing them to open fire on him.
All they’re doing is harassing the Black citizens of Memphis. – RowVaughn Wells, mother of Tyre Nichols, speaking of Memphis police
“They said the same thing about our son,” Mrs. Wells said.
But video of the scene in which Nichols was beaten doesn’t show him reaching for anything, they said.
Rep. Justin J. Pearson, D-Memphis, called Gillespie’s bill a “racist, retaliatory” measure that perpetuates “injustice” in the state House.
House Minority Leader Karen Camper, D-Memphis, pointed out that Republicans who hold a supermajority in the House talk about “local control” until it doesn’t suit them anymore. She noted the Memphis City Council and mayor adopted the ordinance after the federal government investigated the police department and raised concerns about policies there.
Yet, House lawmakers are saying, “We’re going to throw that out the window, because in our mind, we know what’s best for you,” Camper said.
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