Nichols family vows to continue fight against policing bill

Tyre Nichols

The parents of Tyre Nichols say they will continue to gather support against a bill that would take away the ability of local governments to control their police departments.

The bill is sponsored by Rep. John Gillespie and it comes in the wake of the Memphis City Council passing the ‘Driving Equality Act in Honor of Tyre Nichols’ last April which would end pretextual police traffic stops. Nichols was brutally beaten to death by Memphis police officers early last year after being pulled over for what the officers called “reckless driving”.

Under the new law, police can only make routine traffic stops for primary violations—not for minor infractions like a broken taillight. The bill (HB1931) was scheduled for a vote in the House Monday night.

Earlier that afternoon, Nichols’ parents, RowVaughn and Rodney Wells held a press conference along with Rep. Justin J. Pearson and House Minority Leader Karen Camper to speak out against the legislation. As the Wells family watched from the House gallery, Pearson and several other Democratic lawmakers honored their presence. When the bill came up for consideration, Republican leadership announced debate on the measure would be delayed to the next available session.

The Wellses vowed to return to continue the fight. “Oh, we’ll be back,” Rodney Wells said in an interview following the session. The bill should be on Thursday’s House Floor calendar.

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