“We want this duty to intervene to become ‘tire law,'” said Nichols family attorney Ben Crump.
BUFFALO, NY – As the country grapples with police reform following the death of Tire Nichols, a Buffalo law could serve as a model for the city of Memphis.
Cariol’s law established a legal obligation for Buffalo police officers to intervene in situations like the one that led to Nichols’ death, for which body camera video was released Friday night, sparking outrage.
The law is named after a former Buffalo police officer, Cariol Horne, who, unlike now-former Memphis Police Department members, did not step in — when she thought her colleague had gone too far during an arrest.
“We want this duty to intervene to become ‘tire law,'” said Nichols family attorney Ben Crump during a news conference Friday.
While the Buffalo law was based on existing police department policy, it also made it clear that whistleblowers would be protected in situations of excessive violence. Crump believes if Memphis had had a similar law on the books, Nichols’ life could have been saved by an officer willing to intervene.
“We have to make it official. We have to document it. We need to get it on the books. We must point out that police officers have an obligation to intervene if they see a crime being committed,” he added.
Like Crump, New York State Senator James Sanders Jr., a Queens Democrat, believes Nichols could still be alive if Memphis had its own law.
Sanders Jr. has sponsored a bill that would create a statewide “Cariol’s Law” for the past several years, but each year the bill has failed to get off the committee. A corresponding bill is still missing in the state parliament.
“If that was the case in Memphis, if that law was in effect … after Mr. Nichols didn’t move, maybe some of the officers would have said, okay, we got this, it’s time to stop,” Sanders Jr. said. .
He added that the national attention could help push his bill through this final term. Sanders Jr. said he spoke with Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins about resubmitting the bill to his peers.
State Senator Patrick Gallivan, a Republican from western New York, told 2 On Your Side that while the bill has stalled, he argues it’s “not necessarily a bad thing” since the police already have the duty to intervene.
“There are many regulators. I think there are guidelines. Unfortunately, as we see time and time again, we cannot protect ourselves from bad human behavior,” Gallivan said.
In many cases, police departments have already implemented policies urging officers to take action even when a fellow officer might be breaking the law, as Buffalo did in 2020. Whether these guidelines are followed or seriously adhered to is another question.
The Memphis Police Department has a duty to intervene in politics on their books.
The introduction of a local law could give prosecutors direct access without the need for a potential referral through the police department’s internal affairs.
Cariol Horne was charged last week with allegedly harassing officers.
The Erie County Attorney’s Office told 2 On Your Side that police were questioning two people as part of a looting investigation on Christmas Day when Horne tried to stop them. Prosecutors allege Horne also pushed an officer.
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