Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images
The authorities of the city of Memphis in Tennessee have released police body camera videos and surveillance video showing the traffic stop and the violent police confrontation which led to the death of Tire Nichols.
Video of a traffic stop that led to the fatal beating of a 29-year-old black man shows “acts that defy humanity,” the Memphis police chief said Friday, hours before the expected public release of the footage. .
The city of Memphis said in a statement that these videos were recorded on the night of January 7, 2023 in Memphis, Tennessee.
Videos of the violent arrest of Tire Nichols are hard to watch, but they can also be difficult to avoid. Some people might even feel compelled to watch them as a way to pay tribute to Nichols, who died three days after the confrontation with the officers.
The video clips released by the city of Memphis number four and include three police body cameras and an overhead angle of a pole-based police camera, according to Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy.
Memphis authorities reported that these videos contain graphic content and language. Viewer discretion is advised. Videos can be viewed at www.vimeo.com/CityofMemphis
The most graphic video is the one captured by a surveillance camera on a lamppost, where it is seen from above how the agents kicked, some of them in the head, and hit Nichols with a baton.
Another three of the recordings correspond to cameras that the agents carried attached to their bodies: In one of them it is seen how Nichols is taken out of his car by some police officers who try to mobilize him on the ground until the man manages to get free and runs away. At that moment, the police request reinforcements to search for the young African-American.
In this recording you can hear how the troops insult the detainee while they try to mobilize him again. Another of the recordings begins with somewhat confusing scenes in which there is a struggle. Immediately afterwards Nichols leaves handcuffed on the ground next to a police car and the arrival of an ambulance is appreciated.
During the violent scenes, there are times when Tire Nichols can be heard screaming for his mother during the confrontation with the policewhen two officers punched and kicked Nichols while he was on the ground.
Five former Memphis police officers involved in the arrest of Tire Nichols have been charged with murder and kidnapping, the Shelby County district attorney announced Thursday.
Tire Nichols, the 29-year-old African-American driver, was pulled over on January 7 by Memphis police for reckless driving and a “confrontation” ensued, the Memphis Police Department said.
The police chief said that the department has been unable to find anything to support probable cause of the reckless driving.
Biden outraged and hurt
President Joe Biden He said he is “outraged and deeply hurt to see the horrifying video of the beating that resulted in the death of Tire Nichols,” in a statement released by the White House shortly after the city of Memphis released the video footage Friday by the night.
“It is yet another painful reminder of the deep fear and trauma, the pain and exhaustion that black and brown Americans experience every day,” the president said.
“The images that were released tonight will leave people justifiably outraged. Those who seek justice must not resort to violence or destruction. Violence is never acceptable; it is illegal and destructive. I join the family of Mr. Nichols in calling for a peaceful protest,” Biden said.
It may interest you:
– Five former police officers are arrested for the death of the young Tire Nichols in Memphis
– The United States braces for civil unrest over the death of Tire Nichols by Memphis police officers
– Lawyer for the family of Tire Nichols confirmed that the victim received “an absolute beating” for three minutes