Friday evening (January 27), Memphis officials release video footage of violent arrest of tyre nicholsA 29-year-old black man who died after being severely beaten during a three-day traffic stop.
The death of the young man has given a deep shock A scandal has arisen for the Nichols family, and throughout town.
Five Memphis Police The officers – Taddeus Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith – were involved in the stop and were ejected. now face murder charges,
President Joe Biden and his predecessors Barack Obama and Donald Trump have condemned the fatal beating and Nichols’ family is set to attend the State of the Union next week as guests of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Body-camera footage of the ordeal was released by the city on Friday at 7 p.m. ET. The video shows officers dragging Nichols out of his car and firing a Taser weapon before fleeing the scene on foot.
When they catch up with him, footage shows him punching, kicking and punching the black man before slamming him against a police car.
Here’s what we know about the traffic stop where things started:
Why was Nichols stopped?
The Memphis Police Department initially stated that Nichols was pulled over at approximately 8:30 a.m. local time for “reckless driving,
“As officers approached the driver of the vehicle, a confrontation occurred and the suspect fled the scene on foot,” police said at the time. “The officers pursued the suspect and again attempted to take the suspect into custody. Another confrontation occurred while attempting to take the suspect into custody; however, the suspect was eventually apprehended.
The police leadership later retracted those claims.
“I’m going to be honest with you about the stop. What was said appeared to be what is considered reckless driving,” Police Chief Serelin Davis told CNN on Friday. “We have seen the cameras. We’ve seen body-worn cameras. Even if something happened before this stop, we have been unable to confirm it.”
“We have taken a very comprehensive look to determine what that was the probable cause and we have not been able to prove it,” she said. “It doesn’t mean nothing happened, but there is no evidence.”
The Nichols family is also doubting the police version of events.
Tyr Nichols died three days after being beaten by officers
(AP)
“We don’t know anything more than what we see in the video,” said Ben Crump, an attorney for the Nichols family. Told During a press conference on Friday.
“They say he was driving recklessly. We’ll have to look into it. We certainly can’t take his word for it.
What we do know is that after the stop was initiated, there was some sort of physical altercation between the police and Nichols, and at one point Nichols fled from the police.
police dispatch audio received by fox 13 grabs the officers saying, “We have a black male walking by,” while Other tapes obtained by CBS News records that another police officer says, “He’s fighting at the moment.”
All told, there were two separate altercations between Nichols and officers during the stop, the latter just a few blocks from Nichols’ home, according to the MPD.
After being stopped, Nicholls was hospitalized and was photographed with severe bruises and cuts. He finally died on 10 January.
An external autopsy showed his body “extensive bleeding,
Lawyers for the Nichols family said they were treated like a “human piñata” by officers.
“He was a human piñata for those police officers,” attorney Antonio Romanucci said of video of the incident.
“[It’s]appalling. It’s reprehensible. It’s heinous,” said Mr. Crump, another attorney for the family.
what is the footage showing
The footage – taken from police bodycams as well as police sky camera video – was released by Memphis officials on Friday.
It shows a black man being punched, kicked, batoned and taunted by a group of officers.
Afterward – as Nichols fell in front of a police car – the officers were heard joking about their use of force.
The first half of the hour-long video shows officers pulling the man away, pushing him out of the vehicle and onto the floor.
One of them is heard saying: “B**ch your hands behind your back before I break them.” An officer then threatens Nichols that “I’m going to knock the f**k out of your ass.”
Nichols replied: “You guys are really going through a lot right now. I’m just trying to get home.”
The video shows the officers trying to use their Tasers on Nichols, who then flees the scene.
When the first group of officers hear over their radios that the young man has been apprehended, another is heard saying: “I hope they bust his ass.”
Pole camera footage shows officers tasing Ty Nichols
(AP)
The officers caught up with Nichols then wrestled him to the ground and Nichols was pepper sprayed in the face.
“I’m going to attack you,” one officer can be heard shouting, while another says “Look, I’m going to spray your a** again.”
Nichols could be heard on the ground crying out loud for his mother.
The officers can be heard on the bodycam video repeatedly yelling at Nichols, “Give me your f***ing hand.”
Another officer can be heard from pepper spray saying, “That mom got me sprayed”.
The video then showed Nichols slumping against a car while the officers stood by laughing, explaining the arrest and what they had done to apprehend him.
“I jumped in, started shaking him,” one officer can be heard boasting as another claims Nichols hands his gun.
“He literally got his hands on my gun. That mother***** was over there,” the officer said.
In addition to bodycam video of the officers, the city of Memphis also released video from a police camera attached to a light pole right across from the scene of the incident.
According to CNN, that camera, which had no sound, showed that Nichols had been struck nine times in four minutes.
Protests spread across America
Following the video’s release, protests broke out in Memphis and across the United States demanding justice for Nichols.
In Memphis, a large crowd gathered on I-55 in downtown Memphis on Friday night.
Protesters protesting in Washington on Friday
(Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Meanwhile, groups of protesters also gathered in New York’s Times Square, Washington DC and Atlanta, Georgia.
President Joe Biden called the video “appalling” and said it was a “painful reminder” of the fear black and brown Americans face while calling for peaceful demonstrations.
“Like so many others, I was outraged and deeply saddened to see the horrific video of the beating that resulted in the death of Tyra Nichols,” the president said in a statement. “It is another painful reminder of the deep fear and trauma, pain and exhaustion that black and brown Americans experience every day.”
And the president added: “We must do everything in our power to ensure that our criminal justice system lives up to its promise of fair and impartial justice, equal treatment and respect for all.
“Real and lasting change will only come when we take action to prevent tragedies like this from happening again.”
On Sunday, Vincent Evans, executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus, announced that Nichols’ parents had accepted an invitation to attend the State of the Union next week.