South Florida community reacts with anger, shock and sadness after watching video of beating

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida. The brutal beating and death of a Memphis man by police sent a wave of emotions through the South Florida community after watching the video on Friday: shock, anger, sadness.

The former FBI agent and current defense attorney, CEO of the Palm Beach County Urban League, CEO and President of the Palm Beach County Black Caucus, spoke to WPTV after watching a video of officers beating Tyre Nichols after a traffic stop on Jan. 7.

Stuart Kapan, retired FBI agent, now a lawyer.

WPTV host Michael Williams interviewed Kapan after watching the full video of the beating.

“It’s brutal, barbaric, and a real black eye for the entire law enforcement community,” Kaplan said. I have seen terrible videos in the past. I have seen such cruelty. I have never seen a group of men act in concert with such brutality and in such barbaric behavior.

How do bad officers get into the army?

“I have always advocated that we need a single, unified verification process,” Kapan replied. the caliber of people out there, whether they’re going to work in LA, New York, small town, Memphis. I want to have uniform standards.”

A defense lawyer for one of the men had previously said the video did not tell the whole story.

“It’s more of a story,” Kaplan said. “The brutality of the five guys who beat this guy up and obviously killed him. This is bad. The worst thing about the video is that other officers arrived on the scene. None of them even try to help, find out what happened, de-escalate, do anything that any other person would have done or is trained to do to at least make sure this guy has a chance to survive. and get the help you give him.

“All the first responding officers, each and every one of them, should be fired and also held accountable for non-intervention.”

Twenty minutes elapsed between the end of the beating and the first officers’ attempts to help.

Patrick Franklin, Palm Beach County Urban League CEO

“We need to change what’s happening,” Franklin told WPTV’s Kamrel Eppinger. “We need to change the system. We must change the way we police. We must understand that this is unacceptable. This is not protection or service. Not at all.”

His reaction after the video?

“This is absolutely straight-forward murder, and it should be acceptable in society,” Franklin said. “No, no, we just lost confidence in law enforcement after seeing something like this.”

Franklin praised the Memphis Police Department and prosecutors for their swift action leading to the arrest of the five accused officers.

He said the incident should become the standard for future investigations.

Richard Riles, Palm Beach County Black Caucus President

Riles also praised Eppinger for the way the police department handled the case.

By taking swift action, holding officers accountable and releasing the video, Riles said they gained public trust and minimized potential violence across the country.

“However, looking at the video, I see that there are other officers who may also be charged in the future due to their involvement,” Riles said. “The callousness of this act is regrettable and obvious. I sincerely worry about the parents of the murdered young man, and I pray that justice will be done for these citizens.”