Canadian police chiefs speak out on death of Black man beaten by U.S. officers
Canadian police chiefs speak out on death of Black man beaten by U.S. officers
Canadian police chiefs condemned on Friday the death of a Black man who was savagely beaten by police during a traffic stop in the United States, saying the officers involved must be held accountable.
The condemnation of the actions that led to Tyre Nichols' death came as authorities in Memphis, Tenn., released a video of what happened.
The footage shows officers holding Nichols down and striking him repeatedly as he screamed for his mother.
After the beating, officers milled about for several minutes while Nichols lay propped up against a car, then slumped onto the street.
Nichols died three days after the Jan. 7 confrontation. The officers, all of whom are Black, were charged Thursday with murder and other crimes.
Chief Myron Demkiw of the Toronto Police Service offered sincere condolences to Nichols' family and friends. He said the actions of the officers in Memphis will have long-standing impacts on communities in Toronto and would have a disproportionate effect on some members of the Black community.
"I am profoundly saddened by the murder of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee," Demkiw said in a post on Twitter. "On behalf of the Toronto Police Service, I condemn the violent actions of the officers involved."
The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police called the circumstances of Nichols' death "horrific and highly disturbing," and offered condolences to his loved ones.
"(Officers') duties must always be done in a manner that is transparent, professional, and upholds the high standards of policing as a profession," the association said in a statement. "Every officer understands that they are accountable for their actions."
The Ottawa Police Service said Nichols' death and similar tragedies destabilize communities and undermine trust in police across North America.
"Nichols’ death, like so many before him, is tragic," Ottawa police said. "We join in the calls for justice, and we support the steps being taken to fully investigate the incident and hold the individuals accountable."
The chiefs of Peel police, Windsor police and Regina police also issued statements to condemn the actions of the officers charged in Nichols' death.
Peel police chief Nishan Duraiappah said the death of Nichols was "deeply disturbing," and that his thoughts were with the man's family and community.
Windsor police chief Jason Bellaire said Nichols’ death and similar events affect "police credibility" globally, and it will take the police a long time to rebuild relationships and restore trust with the community.
He said his force will work with any community groups that want to plan peaceful protests in response to Nichols’ death.
Regina police chief Evan Bray called the death of Nichols "tragic and unnecessary" in a video posted on Twitter.
Bray said he reached out to leaders from his city's Black community to express his sympathy and noted that Nichols’ death brings up "all kinds of heartache and trauma."
The Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police said the video of Nichols being beaten by the officers in Memphis is disturbing and the association is shaken by what it saw.
"What happened in Memphis, and the death of Tyre Nichols is a failure to uphold the basic human rights that every citizen is entitled to," the association said in a release late Friday.
"Police officers take an oath to serve and protect, and so we understand that when there is an appalling incident like this, policing as an institution comes under increased scrutiny. We denounce the egregious use of force on anyone in the community."
The association said the death of Tyre may be especially triggering for the Black communities it serves.
"We categorically condemn the actions that resulted in the senseless loss of a life."
The Edmonton Police Service called the death of Nichols a tragedy and said what happened in Memphis does not reflect police work in any form.
"There is no avoiding that the five officers, now charged with second-degree murder and other charges, were on duty when they committed this act," the service said in an email.
"EPS (Edmonton Police Service) supports the swift and decisive action taken by the Memphis police in seeking justice for Mr. Nichols and his family."
Given the likelihood of protests, Memphis Police Director Cerelyn Davis said she and other local officials decided it would be best to release the video later in the day, after schools were dismissed and people were home from work.
Nichols' mother, RowVaughn Wells, warned supporters of the “horrific” nature of the video but pleaded for peaceful protests.
“I don’t want us burning up our city, tearing up the streets, because that’s not what my son stood for,” she said. “If you guys are here for me and Tyre, then you will protest peacefully.”
The officers each face charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. Four of the five officers had posted bond and been released from custody by Friday morning, according to court and jail records.
Second-degree murder is punishable by 15 to 60 years in prison under Tennessee law.
As a precaution, Memphis-area schools cancelled all after-class activities and postponed an event scheduled for Saturday morning. Other early closures included the city power company's community offices and the University of Memphis.
Davis said other officers are still being investigated for violating department policy. In addition, she said “a complete and independent review” will be conducted of the department’s specialized units, without providing further details.
Two fire department workers were also removed from duty over Nichols’ arrest.
-- With files from The Associated Press.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2023.
Canada needs a 'Conservative renaissance,' former prime minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday, but he cautioned that Pierre Poilievre should wait until an election before telling Canadians how he might run the country.
U.S. President Joe Biden is coming to Canada Thursday evening, kicking off his short but long-awaited overnight official visit to Canada. Here's what CTV News has confirmed about what will be on the agenda, and what key players are saying about the upcoming visit.
Canada's Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman says the country’s relationship with its American counterparts required rebuilding after the Trump administration.
WW International appears set to close dozens of its roughly 118 WeightWatchers locations across Canada on March 26 in what may be part of a restructuring strategy.
The death toll from last week's massive fire in Old Montreal has risen to four, Montreal police confirmed. Julien Levesque, a police spokesperson, said Wednesday evening that two more bodies were retrieved from the historic building that went up in flames last Thursday.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) says it receives tens of thousands of complaints from consumers across Canada each year, but once in a while a "quirky" one will take them by surprise.
The Canadian real estate market has been sluggish since last year, when prospective buyers started putting off plans to purchase homes as the Bank of Canada aggressively hiked interest rates eight consecutive times. But realtors see many edging toward a purchase once more.
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in CTV W5's 'What Happened to Ben,' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in 'What Happened to Ben' on CTV W5.
The RCMP knew about a potential cocaine shipment from the Dominican Republic to Toronto aboard a Canadian charter flight but inexplicably allowed the crew that discovered and reported the drugs to be detained for months without intervening, a W5 investigation has revealed.
CTV W5 investigates what authorities knew about plans to smuggle cocaine out of the Dominican Republic on a Toronto-bound Pivot Airlines flight. The airline's crew is demanding justice following their eight-month detention.
A 64-year-old grandmother from Barrie, Ont. faces life in prison in Hong Kong, accused of smuggling drugs, after being duped twice in what her family believes was a sophisticated romance scam.
Anishinaabe podcaster Ryan McMahon sought to uncover the truth behind the deaths of several Indigenous people in Thunder Bay, Ont. in a new Crave Original documentary.
An Ontario mother and father say their four-year-old was recently diagnosed with a brain tumour after doctors believed his symptoms were a flu-like virus for months.
A Toronto man who was shot multiple times by a police officer while he was walking his dog last month says more could have been done to de-escalate the situation that almost left him dead.
Ottawa police and the city of Ottawa have warned residents and visitors will see an increased police presence across the downtown core on Thursday and Friday, and there will be "significant traffic and transit disruptions" during the visit.
Emergency crews responded to the collision involving a pedestrian on Highway 105 near the Chem. Ditchfield intersection in Chelsea at approximately 5:15 p.m. Wednesday.
Remembering the night he fatally shot Beau Baker outside a Kitchener apartment on Brybeck Crescent in April 2015, Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) Staff Sgt. Eric Boynton - who was a patrol officer at the time - testified he was worried about Baker killing himself or others.
It is what many people consider a safe space, secure in the confines of their own vehicle, but a stabbing on Richmond Row may have changed that for many. It happened around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon as a driver in a southbound car was waiting for a train to cross Richmond Street, just south of Piccadilly Street.
Despite the building boom in Hyde Park, one high profile development remains a bust with city staff. The planning department is once again recommending refusal of a rezoning application by York Developments.
Hundreds of students across London, Ont. and Middlesex have been suspended from school for not being up to date on their vaccinations. Notices have been delivered to 675 students and their guardians.
A LaSalle man is in serious condition and facing an impaired driving charge after a car collided with an attached garage of a home, according to police.
When Windsor, Ont.’s Environment, Transportation, and Public Safety Standing Committee meets next Wednesday, they’ll revisit the conversation around train horns keeping Walkerville residents up at night.
The death toll from last week's massive fire in Old Montreal has risen to four, Montreal police confirmed. Julien Levesque, a police spokesperson, said Wednesday evening that two more bodies were retrieved from the historic building that went up in flames last Thursday.
The mayor of Montreal says she only had two requests of the Quebec government and one of them was ignored. Despite new buildings going up in Montreal, Mayor Valerie Plante says it's harder than ever for some people to find a place to live.
A Transportation Safety Board of Canada report has linked the fatal sinking of a Nova Scotia scallop dragger in 2020 to years of federal inaction on the imposition of stricter stability standards for fishing vessels.
A new political poll surveying Albertans ahead of May's provincial election shows a deep divide within the province, with the governing United Conservative Party and Alberta's New Democrats fighting neck and neck for support.
Wearing her husband's police jacket, Ashley Ryan walked to centre ice at a charity hockey game in Spruce Grove, Alta., Wednesday night. She, a paramedic, then dropped the puck on the matchup that Brett was planning to referee.
Wearing her husband's police jacket, Ashley Ryan walked to centre ice at a charity hockey game in Spruce Grove, Alta., Wednesday night. She, a paramedic, then dropped the puck on the matchup that Brett was planning to referee.
Alberta's premier assured a ballroom of rural leaders Wednesday that she does not want to see the province move away from electricity generated from fossil fuels, while complaining about solar panels covering farm land.
Dog owners in Trail, B.C., are being urged to keep their pets inside as Mounties investigate the deaths of two family dogs believed to have been poisoned with strychnine.
U.S. President Joe Biden is coming to Canada Thursday evening, kicking off his short but long-awaited overnight official visit to Canada. Here's what CTV News has confirmed about what will be on the agenda, and what key players are saying about the upcoming visit.
Canada's Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman says the country’s relationship with its American counterparts required rebuilding after the Trump administration.
Canada needs a 'Conservative renaissance,' former prime minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday, but he cautioned that Pierre Poilievre should wait until an election before telling Canadians how he might run the country.
WW International appears set to close dozens of its roughly 118 WeightWatchers locations across Canada on March 26 in what may be part of a restructuring strategy.
Canada's race to procure ventilators for COVID-19 patients in the early days of the pandemic had researchers, scientists, industry and a notable astrophysicist working 'night and day' to design machines that could be quickly manufactured domestically.
Last month, Dr. Michael Yang, a spine surgeon at Foothills Medical Centre, performed a discectomy to remove the damaged part of a herniated disc in the spine, on a patient who was wide awake.
Sky-gazers will be treated to a parade of planets near the end of month when Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus and Mars will appear together in the night sky.
Two organic compounds essential for living organisms have been found in samples retrieved from the asteroid Ryugu, buttressing the notion that some ingredients crucial for the advent of life arrived on Earth aboard rocks from space billions of years ago.
The battle between the U.S. and China over TikTok comes into full view on Thursday when the social media platform's CEO testifies before Congressional lawmakers.
Veteran actor Dick Van Dyke has suffered minor injuries after his car was involved in a collision in Malibu, California, police in the city have confirmed.
Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine, whose testimony against his own gang helped convict two high-ranking members, was assaulted by several people at a gym in Florida, officials said Wednesday.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday sued Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun, accusing him and several celebrities of illegally selling crypto securities and scheming to artificially inflate trading volume in crypto assets.
The Canadian real estate market has been sluggish since last year, when prospective buyers started putting off plans to purchase homes as the Bank of Canada aggressively hiked interest rates eight consecutive times. But realtors see many edging toward a purchase once more.
The federal Liberals are moving ahead with plans to create an ownership registry after promising to increase transparency about who owns and controls corporations.
When Ai Weiwei opens his new show in April, visitors will encounter a familiar scene at London's Design Museum: Claude Monet's famed water lilies. But the monumental recreation is made from the studs of Lego bricks — a whopping 650,000 of them.
Bianca Andreescu and Leylah Fernandez completed a first-round sweep for Canadians in the women's singles draw at the Miami Open with wins on Wednesday.
Major League Baseball has clarified its new rules to allow umpires to delay the start of the pitch clock after big swings in which a hitter loses footing or when a pitcher covers first base, third or home, in addition to other clarifications announced Wednesday.
The Chevrolet Camaro, for decades the dream car of many teenage American males, is going out of production. General Motors, which sells the brawny muscle car, said Wednesday it will stop making the current generation early next year.
U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating complaints from Honda Civic drivers that their steering can stick, causing a momentary increase in effort and increasing the risk of a crash.
The 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170 will deliver 1,025 horsepower from its 6.2-litre supercharged V-8, and the automaker says it will be the quickest production car made.
