The Black community is reeling from the senseless death of Tyre Nichols, one of many that continue to take place at the hands of law enforcement. On Saturday (Jan. 28), Tamika Palmer, the mother of Breonna Taylor, took to Instagram to share that Nichols and her slain daughter share the same birthday. Renowned activist Tamika Mallory then shared a post of her own in response, revealing that she had to console Palmer following the tragic epiphany:
“Yesterday, I spent 30 horrible minutes trying to calm down Breonna Taylor’s mother and my friend,” she stated. “She was hysterical after learning her daughter and Tyre share the same exact birthday to the year. She was damn near inconsolable and the only thing that broke her mourning was me saying, “Sis, you are going to get sick. Please stop before you get sick.”
Mallory continued: “Then I cracked a personal joke and we were able to shift the conversation. We started cussing and talking about the war to stop this s**t. So many emotions in 30 minutes. This shit is traumatizing… It’s NOT OK. I’m NOT OK!”
As previously reported by REVOLT, Memphis police released footage of Nichols’ interaction with Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith during a traffic stop. In those clips, the since-ousted officers proceeded to pepper spray, tase, and beat the 29-year-old inexplicably. Nichols died three days later. Since then, all five individuals have been charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression. The subdivision that they were a part of, dubbed SCORPION (Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace In Our Neighborhoods), has been disbanded by Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis, who made her decision based on “the heinous actions of a few.” You can see the aforementioned posts from both Palmer and Mallory below.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram