On January 27, officials in Memphis released a video footage of the violent arrest of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who died three days after being severely beaten during the incident, causing traffic to come to a halt.
The premature death of the young man has caused deep sorrow for the Nichols family, and has sparked a controversy that has extended across the entire city.
The officer department was fired from the department, and also the sixth officer is now facing second-degree murder charges. Additionally, the officers Justin Smith, Desmond Mills III, Emmitt Martin, Demetrius Haley, and Tadarrius Bean were fired from the Memphis Police Department. Meanwhile, seven others are facing disciplinary action.
Reverend Al Sharpton gave a eulogy at his funeral on February 1st, which was attended by Vice President Kamala Harris and lawmakers. Family members of Nichols, who are guests of the Congressional Black Caucus, are scheduled to be present at President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech.
He escaped the location by running away before the police forcefully removed Nichols from his vehicle and deployed a taser device on him, as depicted in the video recorded by the officer’s body camera.
After they catch up with him, footage shows them beating, kicking and punching Nichols before leaving him slumped against a police car.
Here’s what we understand about the traffic stop where events originated:
The Memphis Police Department initially stated that Nichols was stopped around 8.30pm local time for “reckless driving.”
At that moment, law enforcement stated that a clash took place when officers approached the driver of the car and the perpetrator escaped on foot. The perpetrator was ultimately apprehended, but another clash arose during the endeavor to detain the suspect. Officers chased after the suspect and once more tried to take the suspect into custody.
However, the video evidence of the assault contradicts the initial statements, and law enforcement officials have retracted those allegations.
Police chief Cerelyn Davis informed CNN, “We have been unable to verify it. Even if an incident occurred before this stop, we have examined body worn cameras. We have examined cameras. The information received indicated that there was observation of what was deemed as reckless driving,” regarding the stop itself, I will be frank with you.
We have not been able to substantiate proof that something happened, but it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. We’ve taken a pretty extensive look to determine what the probable cause was. “She added.
The Nichols family is also doubtful of the police account of the incident.
During a press briefing after the video was made public, Ben Crump, the lawyer representing the Nichols family, stated, “Aside from what we witnessed in the footage, we currently lack any additional information.”
“They claim that he was operating the vehicle in a dangerous manner,” he stated. “We must personally observe the situation. We definitely cannot trust their statement.”
Nichols escaped from the authorities at one juncture, and law enforcement and Nichols got involved in some sort of physical confrontation following the commencement of the stop. What is certain is that.
A male black individual who is running has been apprehended by our officers. According to an official police statement, the suspect was captured by officers after they obtained audio dispatch from the police. Additionally, CBS News has obtained another tape recording which suggests that the suspect was involved in a fight at the time of the incident.
According to the MPD, two separate conflicts took place between Nichols and officers during the stop, with the latter happening in close proximity to Nichols’s residence.
After the cessation, Nichols was admitted to the medical facility and documented in pictures with significant bruising and cuts. Eventually, he succumbed on 10th January.
An external post-mortem examination revealed that his body experienced “significant hemorrhaging.”
As per family attorney Antonio Romanucci, Nichols endured harsh mistreatment from the officers, comparable to being treated like a “human piñata”.
“(It) is shocking. It is disgraceful. It is abhorrent,” Mr Crump added.
Footage – taken from police bodycam as well as police sky camera video – was released by Memphis officials on 27 January.
It depicts the African American man being struck, kicked, assaulted with batons, and tasered by the group of law enforcement officers.
The police officers were overheard joking about their utilization of force as Nichols lay slouched against a police car in the aftermath.
In the first segment of the hour-long video, the officers compelled the young man to exit the vehicle and descend onto the floor.
One of them is heard to say: “Lady, please put your hands behind your back before I break them.”
“I’m going to knock you unconscious,” an officer can be heard saying.
Nichols replies: “You all are really busy at the moment. I’m just attempting to go back home.”
The video displays the law enforcement officials attempting to deploy their Tasers on Nichols, who subsequently flees from the location.
“When the first group of officers hears the young man over their radios, another saying can be heard that he hopes they stomp his rear end.”
The officers who apprehended Nichols subsequently subdued him and apparently used pepper spray on his face.
I am going to use the baton to shout at one officer, can you hear me? Another person says, “I will spray out your spray again, be careful.”
Nichols on the floor can be heard wailing loudly for his mother.
The officers can then be heard on bodycam footage repeatedly shouting at Nichols, “Give me your freaking hands.”
Another officer can be heard saying, “That individual made me spray myself” with pepper spray.
The officers stood around laughing while Nichols slumped against a car, recounting what they had captured and arrested. The video then showed it.
Bragging heard be can officer one as claimed another that Nichols put his hand on their gun, rocking started in jumped I.
“He genuinely had his hand on my firearm. That individual was on there,” the officer declared.
The city of Memphis released video footage from a police camera mounted on a light pole that was positioned directly across from the site of the incident, in addition to the bodycam footage captured by the officers.
The camera, which had no audio, captured Nichols being struck nine times within a span of four minutes.
Following the release of the videos, protests broke out in Memphis and across the wider United States, demanding justice for Nichols.
In the heart of Memphis, a sizable crowd flocked to I-55 in the aftermath of the videos’ release.
Meanwhile, gatherings of demonstrators also assembled in Times Square in New York, Washington DC, and Atlanta, Georgia.
President Biden, while urging for nonviolent protests, expressed that the video was “shocking” and served as a distressing indication of the ongoing fear experienced by Black and Brown Americans.
“In a statement, the president expressed his outrage and deep pain upon witnessing the horrific video of the beating that led to the death of Tyre Nichols, which serves as a painful reminder of the exhaustion, pain, profound fear, and trauma that Black and Brown Americans endure on a daily basis. Like many others, he was deeply affected by it.”
“In order to ensure the fair and equal treatment of all individuals, and to uphold the promises of our criminal justice system, it is imperative that we, as President, utilize all our power to take action.”
“Real and lasting change will only come if we take action to prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again,” he said.
The Nichols family were invited to participate in Mr. Biden’s State of the Union speech on 7 January.