Why diversity hasn’t changed policing

The police killing of Tyre Nichols shows that hiring Black officers is not a solution for violence against Black communities. Instead, for policing to change, culture needs to change.

For 10 years, Thaddeus Johnson worked as a police officer, most of that time in Memphis, Tennessee, a majority-Black city where those in blue reflect the city’s gritty, brash attitude.

As he rose through the ranks, Dr. Johnson began laying plans to one day become the chief of a department. Through his patrol work, he gathered ideas for how to make...