What did Jason Whitlock say about Tyre Nichols? Journalist's black woman rant sparks online backlash

On Friday, January 27, officials released Tyre Nichols’ bodycam footage showing his fatal confrontation with Memphis police officers following a traffic stop incident earlier this month.

In the video, Nichols can be seen being tossed to the pavement before being punched and pepper-sprayed by the officers.

Shortly after the footage circulated online, journalist Jason Whitlock appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight and claimed that the officers charged over the death of Nichols as they were led by a police chief who is a “single Black woman.”

Speaking about the incident, Whitlock acknowledged that there was "a racial element" to the situation and said that it appeared to him as “gang violence”:

“There is a racial element. And this is a story about young Black men and their inability to treat each other in a humane way. Everybody involved in this on the street level was either 24 to 32 years old. Everybody. It was a group of young Black men, five-on-one. Looked like gang violence to me.”

He went on to claim that the actions of the officers were a result of Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis’s supervision:

“It looked like what young Black men do when they’re supervised by a single Black woman.”

The journalist went on to argue that the chaos and violence in the police department is a result of the force being run by “Black woman” or “single mothers”:

“And that’s what they got going on in the Memphis Police Department. They’ve elected some, or put some Black woman in charge of the police force, and we are getting the same kind of chaos and disunity and violence that we see in a lot of these cities run by single mothers.”

Jason Whitlock continued to argue that suspects resist the police because they never face male authorities in their homes, which results in deaths caused by police brutality:

“If we want to discuss the breakdown of family that leads to disrespect for authority that causes you to resist the police and run from the police and not comply with the police, because you resist authority at all times, because there was no male authority in your home, let’s have that discussion.”

Whitlock’s comments sparked major backlash on social media, with many calling out the reporter for his controversial opinion on Tyre Nichols’ death.

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Netizens react to Jason Whitlock’s remarks on Tyre Nichols video

Jason Whitlock’s slammed for remarks on Tyre Nichols bodycam footage (Image via Mike Sington/Twitter)

On January 10, Tyre Nichols died after spending three days in the hospital following an encounter with Memphis Police. He was reportedly tased, beaten up, and pepper-sprayed after a traffic stop due to alleged reckless driving.

More recently, officials released a harrowing video documenting Nichols’ brutal encounter with the police. In response to the video, journalist Jason Whitlock claimed that the officers accused of assaulting Nichols acted that way as they were supervised by a “Black single woman” aka Police Chief Cerelyn Davis.

Whitlock’s comments sparked major outrage online, and many took to Twitter to slam the reporter for his remarks.

Following Whitlock’s comments on Tyre Nichols’ death, Mediaite's Michael Luciano refuted his statement, clarifying that Chief Cerelyn Davis is married to a retired law enforcement officer and has one daughter:

“Aside from the wrongness of blaming Nichols’ death on the police chief’s status as a 'single Black woman,' Chief Cerelyn Davis is actually married to a retired law enforcement officer and has one daughter, according to her bio on the Memphis Police Department website.”

However, host Tucker Carlson complimented Whitlock for his different take on the situation and said he “appreciated” his opinion.