BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo NAACP president Mark Blue shares the same feelings as most who watched videos released of five Memphis police officers beating 29-year-old Tyre Nichols.
"I was shocked and appalled," Blue said.
"And to make it even more egregious, beat by five black cops. Did you think because you was black we wouldn't say nothing? Did you think that you would hide behind your blackness," said Al Sharpton, founder, and president of the National Action Network.
Nichols had been pulled over for a traffic stop and almost made it to his mother's house. He died in the hospital three days later.
While the videos are disturbing, Blue says he was pleased with the quick response from the Memphis Police Department in removing the officers, adding it needs to be the standard for any future incidents of police brutality.
"When it comes to the disparity between white officers and Black officers, it's almost a rush to judgment. Before, white officers would be put on desk duty or administrative leave, and they would continue to be compensated for their actions. But in no way, no way, should this continue to persist," Blue said.
In 1991, Rodney King was beaten by police officers along a Los Angeles freeway. He did survive, but decades later King's daughter Lora Dene King breaks down watching Nichols beaten as well.
"We should be working together so that this never happens. It seems like it's no change except for hashtag with clear video," King said.
Blue wonders how long it will take before congress acts.
After George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officers in 2020, the House did pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021.
The bill increases accountability for law enforcement misconduct, restricts certain policing practices and established best practices and training requirements, among other things.
It has yet to receive a vote in the senate.
In December, President Joe Biden signed a bill into law to fund police de-escalation training.
"Now the footage has been released. How much more bloodshed will it take before congress acts? How much more trauma and tragedy must the Black community experience in order to spark real change," Blue said.
And how many more times must America watch another son almost come home to his mother?