Tennessee Senate Republicans approved legislation Thursday that would overrule policing reforms established after Tyre Nichols was fatally beaten by five Memphis police officers last year. 

The Memphis law enacted in 2023, and backed by Nichols’s family, made it illegal for police to conduct pretextual traffic stops, which occur when an officer stops a vehicle for an unrelated reason, such as a broken tail light, to conduct a speculative investigation of the vehicle. If approved by Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN), the new bill would undo the original ordinance and be applied statewide.  

“It’s time to take handcuffs off police and put them on criminals where they belong,” said Republican state Sen. Brent Taylor, per the New York Times. 

Democratic state Sen. London Lamar, however, called the Republican-approved legislation “extreme government overreach.”

“I pleaded with the sponsor to not run this,” said Lamar, according to the Associated Press. “Because it’s a slap in the face. Not only for our city council, but all the local governing bodies in this state, because we’re telling them you are not smart enough to decide policies to help govern your own city.”

Republican lawmakers overwhelmingly supported the measure, which was passed in a 26-6 vote, with the upper chamber’s six Democrats voting against it. State Republicans said the bill would help reduce violent crime and allow law enforcement to resume pretextual traffic stops, adding that it could help curb the city’s crime crisis. 

Nichols was killed by five Memphis police officers in January 2023 after he was pulled over for a traffic stop. All five police officers were charged with second-degree murder and federal civil rights violations, with one officer pleading guilty to state and federal charges. 

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Nichols’s family released a statement following the new legislation, saying, “The bill hurts us deeply.”

“Our goal was to create something in Memphis that could protect our community, but even after doing so, our success is fleeting,” the statement said. “We wish that instead of this political sabotage, we could have come together to discuss what is working and what isn’t. Compromise could have happened, but we were never given the opportunity to try.”