Fox News guest suggests societal “treatment of police” contributed to Tyre Nichols' killing
Jonna Spilbor: “Have we inadvertently created more of the monster we have been trying to avoid by our treatment of police over the last three years?”
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From the January 27, 2023, edition of Fox News' The Faulkner Focus.
HARRIS FAULKNER (FOX NEWS ANCHOR): This is, this is so heartbreaking for this family. The mom has already described what it was like, the mom and dad, to watch their child beaten to death by five men who were much larger than he, obviously armed. This is so hard. Talk to me about the law in this instance, though, and how it works, Heather. Bond applies to everybody. Everybody is innocent until proven guilty.
HEATHER HANSEN (GUEST): That's right. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. It's going to be very difficult to overcome this video. And think about it, Harris, everyone in the entire country is going to see this video. Very few people will miss it and then to find a jury that has not either seen it or has not let it influence them is going to be very difficult. But right now what we know is that the charges are second degree murder, not first degree murder, and other charges underneath that. We will see what the defense attorneys come forward with as the case moves along in the process.
FAULKNER: And I said bond applies to everyone — of course in this case is what I would add to that. Talk to me, if you would, Jonna, about the family, though. And you know, you hear them calling for a peaceful protest. We have seen so much destruction since the death of George Floyd, and the people whose businesses and livelihoods that are just become collateral damage to what should be peaceful protesting. Are we seeing enough of that dealt with with justice?
JONNA SPILBOR (GUEST): No. Absolutely not. And I have to say, I'm struck — I'm so happy that the family has come out and and with that message, but you know it's going to fall on deaf ears and I'm really concerned with the fact that have we inadvertently created more of the monster we have been trying to avoid by our treatment of police over the last three years? Why do I say that, Harris? I say that because this wasn't one officer, two officers — five officers, five. You would think even if there were one bad apple in this event, the other four would stop. But have they come to the aid of each other because we've created more of that mentality in trying to fight against it? I know that's not a legal argument. It's more philosophical. But you sit back here and say, why, why does the country have to brace for this? Why do we need a thousand troops to come into this city to brace for what we're going to see tonight? It's a sad, sad situation.
FAULKNER: Well, it's a heartbreaking situation because I can't imagine anything on that tape is less than what the police of chief, Cerelyn Davis, called it, defying humanity. You put it so beautifully, though, and you tip us into that next category of this is not all cops and I can't even imagine to be a police officer today and to know that this is going on. It's really tough and it pits people against each other even more. But we will follow the case, the legal part of it, as it happens, and we will pray that our country can hold together tonight when that tape is released.