Local activists gather to mourn death of Tyre Nichols

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – On Saturday afternoon, local activists gathered to mourn the death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis Tennessee. 

“The public lynching, did y’all hear what I just said? The public lynching of Tyree is unjust, and we condemn the actions of the Memphis Police Department,” said Tony Johnson with the Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice. 

That incident was 1,000 miles away, but reaction from the gruesome lapel video released on Friday was felt here at home.

 “I don’t enjoy the fact that people have to continue to see this and this trauma. But just like Emmett Till’s mother, who wanted people to see her son in a casket, and what they did, we have to bring this travesty, and what’s going on in our communities to light, in order to have that change,” said state Sen. Harold Pope Jr. 

Pope Jr. says this week lawmakers introduced Senate Bill 252 to address police use of force policies in New Mexico. But he says not even laws can make someone act with humanity.

One group says they’re tired of having these events, but will never stop pushing for change.

“I still have hope for humanity, like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said ‘you may get weary, but my God do not stop.’ I’m asking you to use this moment to energize yourself to keep going, we have no choice,” said Barbara Jordan with Press NM. 

They advocate for changes in New Mexico but across the country, they say change starts with one person.

“We are the savers that we’re looking for. So when you think you don’t know where to look, look in that mirror,” said Arthur Bell with the Black Father’s Movement in New Mexico.  

Pope Jr. introduced SB 252 on Thursday, it’s now in committee.

Track SB 252 during the legislative session.