Republicans in Tennessee have passed a bill that will undo traffic stop reforms that were put in place after the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols by police officers last year.
After the incident, the Memphis City Council adopted an ordinance which outlawed some traffic stops for minor violations like a broken tail light.
The bill passed by Republicans would apply statewide and prevent any local laws on traffic stops if an officer identifies or has suspicion that the driver has broken a local ordinance, state or federal law, according to the Associated Press.
House Republicans approved the measure last week and Senate Republicans adopted the proposal Thursday, despite emotional pleas from Nichols’ family.
The bill now heads to Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s desk.
State Sen. London Lamar, a Democrat, representing the district where Nichols was killed, called the bill a “slap in the face.”
“Not only for our city council, but all the local governing bodies in this state, because we’re telling them you are not smart enough to decide policies to help govern your own city,” Lamar added.
But Republicans argue the measure is necessary to protect citizens.
“If we don’t do this, we will further endanger our community,” Sen. Brent Taylor, the Republican bill sponsor said. “As a funeral director and as someone who has seen death daily for 35 years, I understand better than most the pain and suffering that this family is going through. As much as I empathize with the Wells family and Tyre Nichols family and the loss of Tyre, we can’t let that empathy cloud our judgment in protecting 7 million Tennesseans.”
Nichols, a Black man, was violently beaten by officers following a traffic stop on the evening of January 7, 2023. He died three days later in the hospital from blunt force trauma to the head.
The five officers involved in his arrest, all of whom are Black, were fired and charged with second-degree murder and civil rights violations.
