SPOKANE, Wash. — In Spokane and around the Inland Northwest, local leaders are reacting to the news coming out of Memphis tonight.
Spokane NAACP first Vice President Kurtis Robinson said there needs to be a change across the law enforcement industry, to protect people on both sides of the badge.
“The reality is no matter who you are behind that badge no matter what color you are behind that badge, the disproportionate treatment that people of color continue to receive is beyond disturbing," said Robinson.
Robinson says police brutality is nothing new. It's just been well documented in recent years thanks to smartphones and officer-worn body cameras.
"They've been doing this demanding, strenuous job for so long with almost zero accountability until recent times," said Robinson. "This industry is being called to change and it is well past time and frankly we're tired of watching so much of the undeserving human family on either side of this badge die in such tragic and unnecessary ways."
Hours before the city of Memphis released the videos showing the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward and Chief Craig Meidl sent out a joint statement, calling the incident devastating, and inhumane. They say Spokane is listening and learning from the Memphis incident.
The press release went on to say, "The Spokane Police Department has spent several years learning how to better approach volatile situations, how to use words and context to interpret actions and avoid or de-escalate confrontations."
WSU Police Chief Gary Jenkins called Nichols' death tragic and horrific, saying every police officer across the country should denounce the actions that led to Mr. Nichol's death.
"I am disgusted by the actions of the former police officers who perpetrated this attack. I am glad that they will be held accountable," said Jenkins.
Law enforcement across the country, are bracing for more protests.
"Hopefully, people choose to respond to this in a way that calls for meaningful action and that we do so from a place that demonstrates not only our demand for that but also a willingness to figure out what that looks like," said Robinson.
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