DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — The death of Tyre Nichols, who died after being beaten by Memphis police officers has renewed calls for police reform.
Recently experts from Duke’s Law School discussed the idea of police reform and why they believe it isn’t happening quickly.
Since George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020, there have been calls for police reform, but Brandon Garrett, director of the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke University School of Law, says there have not been many laws passed across the country that make major changes when it comes to policing and use of force.
“We’ve seen a lot of activity gesturing toward the need to improve policing, but not particularly hard-hitting requirements,” he said.
He says a push to create laws regulating police is often misunderstood.
“A false narrative that this is sort of abolitionist or you’re just against police if you’re trying to regulate police.”
“That’s not right,” Garrett said. “This is about supporting police and making sure that policing is professional.”
Elana Fogel, director of the Criminal Defense Clinic at Duke Law School, says culture within police departments matters.
“A lot of it comes down to the culture of policing and the attitudes and beliefs that officers approach these initial encounters with,” she noted.
Garrett added that it’s important that officers are trained to balance risks and benefits to public safety with risks to a person’s health and safety when deciding whether to use any type of force.
“If you are investigating something very, very serious, and you have good grounds to think that this person is an immediate threat to public safety then there may be more justifications to try to use more tools to stop the person,” he said. “But if it’s just that you feel disrespected because the person doesn’t identify themselves, if it’s a misdemeanor, if it’s a property offense, then you are actually not doing your job as a protector of public safety if you are doing things that endanger people’s health.”
Experts also said that definitions, interpretations, and policies surrounding use of force can vary by department.
