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After officials in Memphis, Tennessee, released video Friday evening showing five police officers severely beating 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, protestors gathered in downtown D.C. to speak out against police brutality and demand justice. Nichols died from his injuries earlier this month. Organizers from the mutual aid group Harriet’s Wildest Dreams led actions at 13th and K streets NW, speaking out against systemic racist violence and reading the names of individuals who’ve been killed by police in D.C.
The actions Friday night were completely peaceful, but that did not prevent the Metropolitan Police Department from activating its full force in anticipation of protests. Moveable bike racks ringed the Capitol as well. Participants described feeling exhausted and planned to conserve their energy in order to be able to meet the needs of their community members.
Speakers and organizers in downtown D.C. projected demands for Memphis leaders: ending pretextual stops, removing police from traffic enforcement, and disbanding the Memphis Police Department’s SCORPION unit, a 40-person team created in 2021 to address rising homicides. The five officers now charged in Nichols’ death were members of the specialized unit, similar to MPD’s Crime Suppression Teams. On Saturday, the Memphis Police Department announced that the SCORPION unit was permanently terminated.
Members of MPD’s Crime Suppression Teams were involved in the deaths of 20-year-old Karon Hylton-Brown and 18-year-old Deon Kay.
D.C. Officials Respond
Leaders, including Mayor Muriel Bowser and multiple members of the D.C. Council, expressed their dismay about Nichols’ horrific death in formal statements.
“Tonight, we are a city and country united by tragedy, but we are also determined—to deliver justice for Tyre and change for our nation,” Bowser said in a statement released Friday night.
“Tyre Nichols’ killing is yet another tragic example of why we need and must continue to demand that Congress act to pass federal reforms that establish national standards for professional policing and public accountability,” At-Large Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie’s statement, released Saturday, reads. McDuffie also referenced his role in developing and passing policing reform legislation while chairing the Council’s judiciary committee.
Newly sworn-in Attorney General Brian Schwalb emphasized his office’s support for those gathering downtown in his statement. “I urge people across the District who are understandably angry and heartbroken to make their voices heard peacefully in the coming days. The Office of the Attorney General will always protect and support your right to peacefully protest in DC,” he wrote late Friday night.
President Joe Biden has spoken with Nichols’ mother and stepfather, RowVaughn and Rodney Wells. They will attend his State of the Union address, scheduled to be delivered on Feb. 7, on an invitation from the Congressional Black Caucus.
—Caroline Jones (cjones@washingtoncitypaper.com)
- To see today’s COVID-19 data, visit our coronavirus tracker.
- Competing proposals to redevelop the Reeves Center at 14th and U streets NW were announced last week. One team of developers is proposing a 322-unit mixed-income apartment building, a 116-unit residential hotel, an amphitheater, and Dave Chappelle’s comedy club. The other proposal has 286 mixed-income apartments, a food hall, Moxy Hotel, retail, and space for D.C. Central Kitchen. Both plans include office space for the NAACP’s headquarters. [Axios, WBJ]
- TSA officers stopped an Alexandria man at National Airport who tried to bring a loaded 9mm handgun onto a flight. It’s the third firearm that security officers recovered in the past week and the sixth this year. [WTOP]
- A 4-year-old girl was admitted to the hospital with a gunshot wound Saturday morning. Her injuries appear to be non-life threatening. Police say the girl shot herself with a firearm that was not properly secured. [NBC Washington, Twitter]
By City Paper staff (tips? editor@washingtoncitypaper.com)
- Is D.C.’s “Safe Passage” program actually helping get kids to school more safely? Like other alternatives to policing, it’s difficult to quantify whether it’s preventing violent incidents, particularly as some Safe Passage workers struggle to connect with kids. “I don’t know what their role is,” one parent says. [Post]
- Chairman Phil Mendelson is backing Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau’s efforts to revive a bill decriminalizing street vending. The legislation earned hearings last year, but the chairman’s support could be a good sign for its passage this time around. [Twitter]
- Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto’s bill to help people buy electric bikes could be even more effective than similar efforts to push drivers to switch to electric cars. [GGWash]
By Alex Koma (tips? akoma@washingtoncitypaper.com)
- Admitted afternoon person Tim Carmen has discovered two breakfast sandwiches that fit into his leisurely morning schedule. First, Red Apron has reimagined, and improved upon, the McGriddle, known as the pancake burger; and Heat Da Spot’s Ethiopia breakfast combo, while not technically a sandwich, is inspired by the family feast that twin sisters and owners Semret and Timnit Goitom would share after church back home in Addis Ababa. [Post]
- Uncaged Mimosas, the new all-day brunch spot in Truxton Circle from Chef Damian Brown, serves 25 different varieties of mimosas. [Washingtonian]
- Darren Smith, whose family owns the legendary soul food restaurant Henry’s Soul Cafe, is reimagining his community’s relationship with eating and exercise through his nonprofit organization, the Respect Yourself Project. [WTOP]
By City Paper staff (tips? editor@washingtoncitypaper.com)
Grady Bring Their Girl-Powered Pop Rock to DC9 Residency
Local trio Grady define their aesthetic and delves into what makes their lyrics meaningful for […]
- A new exhibit on Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, tailored toward audiences 10 and up, is now open at MLK Library. Focusing on Till-Mobley’s fight for justice after the brutal murder of her son, Let the World See is the latest piece of art focusing on the mother and son to come to D.C. recently. [Washington Informer]
- In more basic news, two Marylanders are contestants on the latest season of The Bachelor. [Washingtonian]
- Gregory Allen Howard, the first Black screenwriter to write a drama that made $100 million at the box office with Remember the Titans, died last week at the age of 70. He was born in Virginia. [NBC Washington]
By Sarah Marloff (tips? smarloff@washingtoncitypaper.com)
- Ilia “quadg0d” Malinin won his first U.S. figure skating championship over the weekend. The 18-year-old from Northern Virginia finished with a score of 287.74 despite falling on an attempted quadruple Axel during his free skate on Sunday. He was the first skater to land a quad in competition last year. [NBC Sports]
- The Wizards beat the Pelicans for their fifth straight win Saturday despite poor offensive performances from Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma. They’ll look to make it six in a row against the Spurs on the road tonight, but history is not on their side. The Wizards haven’t won a game in San Antonio in 23 years. [AP, Bullets Forever]
- Rex Ryan’s reading of the tea leaves leads him to wonder if Tom Brady could sign with the Commanders. [Twitter]
By City Paper staff (tips? editor@washingtoncitypaper.com)
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