The Rev. Al Sharpton, arguing that the Memphis officers charged with the murder of Tire Nichols are a “disgrace to our race,” called on protesters in New York City and elsewhere on Saturday to remain peaceful because the police “want violence”.
Sharpton, who was scheduled to deliver Nichols’ eulogy at Wednesday’s funeral in Memphis, spoke at a rally Saturday at the Harlem House of Justice.
“We are going to continue to protest, but we will do it nonviolently like we always have,” Sharpton told the crowd. “Anyone who engages in violence is helping the police get away with what they did. Because what they want to do is see the violence so they can say, ‘Look, this is why the police had to do what he did. You see how it came out.” of control they are. Don’t play around with the narrative that will end up helping them defend what they did.”
“They are going to have some troublemakers trying to get into our marches and then into our protests,” he added. “Seat them. We are going to respect what this family has asked for and the strategy of the lawyers, and we are going forward and being as fervent, passionate as we can. We are not going to stop being angry, but we are not going into violence.”
FORMER MEMPHIS POLICE OFFICER CHARGED IN THE DEATH OF TIRE NICHOLS ALLEGEDLY BEATING AN INMATE IN 2015
Shaprton said he was not “anti-police” or “anti-white.”
A protester is seen breaking the windows of a police car during the protest against the police assault on Tire Nichols in Times Square in New York on January 27, 2023.
(Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
His comments came after three protesters were arrested in Times Square on Friday night.
Argenis Rivera, 33, was charged with criminal mischief for allegedly jumping on the hood of an NYPD squad car and kicking the windshield.
Law enforcement sources told the NY Daily News that Rivera has prior arrests for assault and robbery. He recently was arrested for strangling someone in October. According to the New York Post, the career criminal was caught for allegedly strangling a woman who was pushing her 2-year-old son in a stroller in the Chelsea area of Manhattan.
Police officers detain a protester who broke the window of a police car in Times Square in New York on January 27, 2023.
(Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
As officers approached to arrest Rivera, another protester, Candy Nicole, 25, tried to push them back, allegedly hitting one officer in the nose and another in the head. Nicole was charged with assault, hate crime assault, and two counts of obstruction of government administration. Nicole has since been released on her own recognizance, the Post reported.
A third protester, Katherine Stone, 34, was arrested for allegedly trying to graffiti the same police car, according to the Daily News. Stone received a ticket to appear at desk for criminal mischief and possession of graffiti tools.
Demonstrators gather during a protest in Times Square on Saturday, January 28, 2023, in New York, in response to the death of Tire Nichols.
(AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Hundreds of protesters rallied in New York City over the weekend after officials released footage Friday showing Tire Nichols severely beaten by five Memphis, Tennessee, police officers, all of whom are also black. Nichols, a 29-year-old FedEx driver, died at the hospital three days after his arrest.
Memphis Police Director Cerelyn “CJ” Davis disbanded the city’s so-called Scorpion unit on Saturday, citing a “cloud of disgrace.”
Police officers detain protesters during the protest against the police assault on Tire Nichols in Times Square in New York on January 27, 2023.
(Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The five officers involved, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III, and Justin Smith, were fired on January 18. All are charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault and other charges in Nichols’ death. .
Police officers detain protesters in Times Square in New York on January 27, 2023.
(Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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“To make it even more egregious, beaten by five black police officers,” Sharpton said Saturday, reacting to Nichols’ death. “Did you think because you were black, we wouldn’t say anything? Did you think you would hide behind your blackness? I want to say it loud and clear that we will fight black cops, white cops, any cop of color who commits crimes against us.”
“They were trying to cover up while they were doing their act,” Sharpton alleged. “Your blackness will not stop us from fighting you. These five policemen not only dishonor their insignia, they dishonor our race.”
Comparing what happened to Nichols to the 1991 beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles, Sharpton called on Congress to reintroduce the George Floyd Justice in Police Act to end the qualified immunity of police officers.
