Tyre Nichols death: Video of arrest prompts protest in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Protesters marched in cities across the country, including Philadelphia, after Memphis officials released police video showing the violent arrest of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols. Dozens of people rallied outside City Hall to demand justice.
Holding signs that read "stop police violence" and demanding change, the Philadelphia Party for Socialism and Liberation organized a rally in front of Philadelphia City Hall on Friday night calling for better policing.
"This is what has become our normal," demonstrator Adiah Hicks said, "but we are out here in the streets in the middle of the freezing cold to say that no, it is not normal."
"I think what happened is absolutely awful," rally organizer Talia Giles said, "and it's a result of the system that exists today."
The Memphis police chief has called the beating "heinous, reckless and inhumane." These demonstrators agree.
"Police get away with what they think they can get away with," demonstrator Casey Wilbanks said.
While the rally was peaceful, the Philadelphia Police Department said it was prepared.
Before the demonstration, CBS News Philadelphia found about a dozen police vehicles, including a counter terrorism unit and bus that lined up about four blocks away from City Hall, near old Hahnemann Hospital.
The demonstrators, around 60 in all, then marched around City Hall and through part of Center City, temporarily blocking traffic on several streets.
"I think without the video, it's very hard to beat these kinds of cases in order for the family to get justice," Giles said.
Hitting the streets on a cold winter night hoping for justice.
