It has been four months since five Memphis Police officers brutally murdered Tyre Nichols, and we still are advocating for justice. "Since the family of Tyre Nichols recently filed a $550 million civil lawsuit against the City of Memphis and its police department, mayoral candidates are talking about policing and public safety.

These updates come months after hundreds of people have gathered to protest, connect community, offer testimony— and some were even banned from Memphis City Council hearings— all to pressure the city to hold cops accountable. 

On April 11, local organizers, Nichols family members, and community members achieved a monumental victory. The Memphis City Council tabled the Tyre Nichols Justice in Policing Ordinance. Despite the name, the ordinance does nothing to prevent deadly police interactions at traffic stops or to keep our communities safe. If passed, it would have overturned five critical regulations that previously were passed. 

While the community has won this battle, there’s still work to be done. That's why we are calling on the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Transportation to take action to protect Black people from deadly traffic stops. They have the power to intervene.

Here are our demands: 

1. Abandon agency programs that cause harm to the Black community as a result of racially unjust police traffic enforcement.
2. Support state and local innovations that reduce police involvement in minor traffic violations and promote alternatives to traffic safety.

Here is the Petition:

Dear Department Of Transportation and Department Of Justice,   

Tyre Nichols should be alive right now, but instead, he died because of a traffic stop. Now, his 4-year-old son will grow up without his father. We cannot allow federally-funded police violence to continue killing our loved ones and destroying our families and communities. 

That's why I'm looking to you all to embrace a new vision for the community by implementing pivotal changes. 

Here are our demands:

1. Abandon agency programs that cause harm to the Black community as a result of racially unjust police traffic enforcement.
2. Support state and local innovations that reduce police involvement in minor traffic violations and promote alternatives to traffic safety.

You have the power to ensure no one else loses their life to needless police violence at what should be a routine traffic stop. The time to act is now. Protect our communities.