Members of the Hudson Valley community reacted to the death of Tyre Nichols, an unarmed Black man who was beat to death by five police officers in Memphis.

Hudson Valley residents and the nation at large were shocked by the bodycam video of Nichols’s fatal beating.

News 12’s Carol Wilkinson spoke to Keith Olson, a veteran Yonkers police officer and leader of the Police Benevolent Association, Westchester’s largest police union.

“I know I speak for all law enforcement when I say, I was horrified by what I saw, just like every other American citizen,” he said.

Olsen said the violent death will impact local policing.

"We're sad about it. The fact that this happened in Memphis, 1,000 miles away, will affect how we police here in Yonkers and throughout Westchester. It’s a tough profession... I will say, we have a great relationship with our community, especially here in Yonkers. We're transparent and our community is very supportive,” he said.

Longtime community activist and figure in the Black Lives Matter movement, Kelli Scott, said the fact that the officers involved were Black does not lessen the severity of the of their actions against a Black man.

"...We're fighting against police brutality. It doesn't matter the skin color of the person that wears the badge, we're fighting the same thing... This system is built on racist constructs. Policing goes back to slavery and them putting down slaves and so the mindset is still the same,” she said.

A demonstraton against police brutality was planned for Sunday at the Irvington Village Hall at 5 p.m.

"We're demanding change when it comes to policies and systems and also at a training level. Demanding more training, screening and also looking at anti-racism training and how to detect those things," Scott said.