HAMPTON, Va. — Hampton Police Division Chief Mark Talbot officially weighed in on the fatal police beating of Tyre Nichols at the hands of police officers in Memphis.
Sunday, dozens rallied outside of Hampton City Hall to speak out against the the now-viral videos of a January arrest, in which five Black police officers in Memphis beat Nichols following a traffic stop.
The Hampton chapter of the NAACP organized the event.
In the video, Nichols is seen calling for his mother. The publicly released video has now renewed the call for police reform and accountability.
Talbot called the now viral video “sick and disgusting”.
“Each one of these viral videos seems to look the same. It seems to look like somebody who is vulnerable isn’t protected and isn’t served. It’s a policing problem but also an American problem," he said.
Talbot added he believed thousands should be out in front of city hall protesting the incident. While there weren't thousands in attendance Sunday, 23-year-old Malachi Townsley took the microphone to speak as if there were.
“We have to ask ourselves when will enough be enough and not ask that to America but to ourselves," he said.
The five officers have been charged with the death of Nichols and have since been fired from the department.
“When I saw the video I felt I had to do something besides being sick and disgusted. I felt I needed to do something more. When Emmitt Till got killed we didn’t get to see that video, but we got to see this video," Talbot told the crowd.
Congressman Bobby Scott was in attendance Sunday and spoke about how the death of Nichols is more evidence for why congress should pass the “George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.”