Vt. delegation calls for police reform in wake of Tyre Nichols’ death

WASHINGTON (WCAX) - Vermont’s congressional delegation is calling for police reform laws following the brutal death of a Tennesee man last week at the hands of officers.

Tyre Nichols’ fatal encounter with police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, was recorded in video made public Friday night, and is a glaring reminder that efforts to reform policing have failed to prevent more flashpoints in an intractable epidemic of brutality.

“Tyre Nichols should be alive. Yes, the police officers who brutally murdered him must be held accountable. But even their conviction on the strongest possible charges cannot bring Tyre back. We must do everything in our power to end police violence against people of color,” Senator Bernie Sanders said on Twitter.

“Tyre Nichols’ life mattered. I applaud the swift action taken in this case. But we need to confront systemic racism in America, which perpetuates violence toward BIPOC communities. Until we make real change — and pass stronger legislation — more lives will be cut short,” Senator Peter Welch said in a statement.

House GOP lawmakers over the weekend said no new laws would prevent incidents like this. “I don’t know if there is anything you can do to stop the kind of evil that we saw in that video,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Rep. Becca Balint also called for an end to the violence.

Copyright 2023 WCAX. All rights reserved.