Bishop's Statement: Death of Tyre Nichols

(Friday, Jan. 27, 2023)

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!
- Psalm 130:1-2

Tonight the voices of many in Memphis and across our nation cry out at the indignity afforded Tyre Nichols.

From the depths of our being, we cry out at the horrific images of indignity and the seeming disregard for human decency. Our voices raise in collective grief with a family mourning a life ended in tragedy.

We have been here before. I fear we will be here again.

Let us resolve to live more fully into our call to respect the dignity of every person. Let us resolve to do justice tempered with mercy. Let us resolve to raise not only our voices but our very selves, to create a world in which no child of God suffers at the hand of another.

Pray for our nation. Pray for the Nichols family. Pray for the former officers and their families. Pray for our common humanity.

May our cries for justice be accompanied by acts of compassion and mercy knowing that God holds the future as God holds the past.

May we together pray: Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen.

The Rt. Rev. Deon Johnson issued this statement Friday, Jan. 27, 2023.

Tyre Nichols, a 29-year old man in Memphis, TN, died Jan. 10 after being stopped by Memphis police officers for a claim of observing reckless driving. Video released on Jan. 27 shows officers beating the man and offering no medical treatment for an extended period of time. Nichols died at a hospital three days after the beating.

Five officers have been fired and face charges including second-degree murder.

Please check news sources for updated information as this story develops further.