TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Feb 1, 2023

Following the death of Tyre Nichols, state lawmakers representing the Memphis area are working on legislation to reform police practices in Tennessee. Local Memphis reports that legislators are rallying around measures to strengthen laws related to choke holds, use of force by police officers, duty to intervene, and what Nichols' family attorney Ben Crump calls “Tyre’s Law." According to Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, legislation passed in the wake of George Floyd’s death did a lot but needs to be strengthened. “It’s hard to legislate a cultural change. But you can certainly create the conditions around punishment for use of force or for a failure to intervene or duty to render care and I'm not talking about losing their jobs. I’m talking about criminal charges.” She said the group is working on specifics and should have more to reveal in the coming weeks.