Memphis Beatdown 'Brutal': Ex-Riverside Top Cop

RIVERSIDE, IL – Riverside's former police chief on Tuesday described Memphis police officers' fatal beatdown of a suspect as "brutal" and urged the firing of the city's police chief.

Former Chief Tom Weitzel was referring to the Jan. 10 death of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols. Five officers were charged with second-degree murder in Nichols' death.

"It's horrible," Weitzel said. "First of all, the chief of police should be terminated. I don't say that lightly. This is a mindset. It's a culture. It's training. The chief is responsible for all that."

He said not a single police agency in the United States teaches officers to do what the Memphis officers did.

"Five officers beat him to death. Other officers arrive, and they don't do anything. They purposely turn away, so their body cameras don't catch it," Weitzel said.

Weitzel said rank "goes out the window" when officers witness colleagues committing crimes. A patrolman, he said, can overrule a sergeant.

"The rookies can stop it," he said. "You can step in, and you will not be fired or disciplined. That goes from the lowest officer to the highest officer. That has to be ingrained."

The Memphis Police Department lowered its hiring standards because it was struggling to fill vacant positions, Weitzel said. The chief, he said, should have pushed back on such an effort.

"It's better to get every officer to meet all standards than rush and hire someone just to fill the slot," he said. "There's a failure of leadership here."