Police will continue until system changes, says grieving family | First Thing

Tyre Nichols’ death reopens wounds felt by family of Steven Askew, who died 10 years ago at hands of Memphis police. Plus, wave of ‘sushi terrorism’ grips Japan

Good morning.

More than 200 miles away from Memphis, as Tyre Nichols’ family mourned the beating to death of their son at the hands of police, Sylvia Askew was at home, taking care of her ailing husband in Nashville, writes Edwin Rios and Oliver Laughland.

What happened to Steven? On the night he was killed, Steven was parked outside an apartment complex, waiting to pick up his girlfriend, when he fell asleep in his car. Two Memphis police officers, Matthew Dyess and Ned Aufdenkamp, responded to an unrelated noise complaint nearby and approached Steven’s vehicle, saw him asleep in the driver’s seat and spotted a firearm. Seconds after Steven woke, the officers opened fire, hitting Steven nine times, including six times in the back.

Why did they say they shot him? They said they spotted a firearm inside the vehicle, and claimed as Steven woke he picked it up and pointed it. As the evidence would later show, their accounts were inconsistent and unreliable.

What does Shah say about the work he has to do? “I hold myself to outcomes. I don’t hold myself to best efforts. I feel like there’s a lot of people who are like, ‘Well, I gave it my best.’ And I was like, ‘Well, I mean, that’s not enough. You either have reduced climate emissions or you haven’t.’