Tyre Nichols: US braces for release of police arrest video

The United States is bracing for mass protests and public outrage as police in the city of Memphis, Tennessee, are expected to release video footage of the arrest and beating of a Black motorist, the latest act of police violence to shake the country.

Five Memphis police officers were presented with charges of, among others, second-degree murder this week in relation to the killing of Tyre Nichols, 29, who died in hospital on January 10 after he was beaten during a traffic stop three days earlier.

The video, set to be released on Friday after 6pm local time (00:00 GMT on Saturday), was expected to include footage captured by police body-worn cameras, cameras mounted on dashboards of police vehicles, and security cameras on utility poles in the vicinity of the fatal incident.

Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said the video shows Nichols crying out for his mother.

“You’re going to see acts that defy humanity. You’re going to see the disregard for life, [for] duty of care, that we’re all sworn to, and a level of physical interaction that is above and beyond what is required in law enforcement,” Davis said during an interview with CNN.

Nichols’s death has recalled the 2020 killing of George Floyd, who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Floyd’s killing, which was captured on video, set off mass protests around the world demanding an end to police violence and anti-Black racism.

The video of the altercation that left Nichols dead also has drawn comparisons to the 1991 Rodney King beating video, which triggered days of riots in Los Angeles that left dozens dead.

“Tyre Nichols = Rodney King, Part 2,” Ben Crump, a civil rights lawyer representing the family, tweeted on Friday morning. “The lack of humanity shown to Tyre Nichols is so troubling on every level.”

Tyre Nichols = Rodney King, Part 2

— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) January 27, 2023

The five officers charged in Nichols’s death — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith — were dismissed from their posts on January 21 after an interview investigation found they breached multiple policies, including through the use of excessive force.

Four of the former officers have posted bail and have been released from jail, a local CBS affiliate reported early on Friday. Haley remained in jail on a $350,000 bond.

In addition to second-degree murder charges, they also are facing indictments of aggravated assault and aggravated kidnapping.

The exact circumstances of the incident remain unclear. After Nichols was pulled over by police, “an altercation” ensued in which officers doused him with pepper spray, and Nichols tried to flee on foot, local District Attorney Steve Mulroy said when announcing the charges against the officers.

“They had beat him to a pulp,” Nichols’s mother, RowVaughn Wells, told CNN on Friday. “He had bruises all over him. His head was swollen like a watermelon. His neck was busting because of the swelling. They broke his neck.

“When I saw that, I knew my son was gone then. Even if he did live, he would have been a vegetable,” Wells said.

On Thursday, US President Joe Biden extended his condolences to the family, saying they deserved “a swift, full, and transparent investigation into his death”.

Biden also called for calm ahead of the video’s release. “As Americans grieve, the Department of Justice conducts its investigation, and state authorities continue their work, I join Tyre’s family in calling for peaceful protest,” he said in a statement.

“Outrage is understandable, but violence is never acceptable. Violence is destructive and against the law. It has no place in peaceful protests seeking justice,” Biden said.

Davis, the Memphis police chief, also said she anticipated those seeing the footage “to feel outrage” but appealed for calm.

“I expect our citizens to exercise their First Amendment right to protest, to demand action and results, but we need to ensure our community is safe in this process,” she said.