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The city of Memphis and the state on Friday awaited the release of a police video showing five officers brutally beating Tire Nichols, the black man whose death sparked manslaughter charges against the officers and outrage in the nation’s latest case of police brutality.
The officers are charged with manslaughter and other crimes in the killing of Nichols, a motorcyclist who died three days after a confrontation with officers during a traffic stop on January 7.
US FBI Director Christopher Wray said on Friday that he had seen video that captured the violent confrontation before the release of the video by local authorities.
Wray and U.S. Attorney Merrick Garland called for a peaceful, nonviolent response when the video of Nichols, who later died of her injuries, was released.
“What happened in Memphis is obviously tragic. I have seen the video myself, and I will tell you I was appalled,” he said.
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy told a news conference that while each officer played a different role in the murder, “they are all equally responsible.”
Traffic stop called ‘questionable’
The officers, who are all black, each face charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.
Nichols’ family members and their lawyers said the footage showed officers brutally beating the 29-year-old FedEx worker for three minutes in an attack that the legal team likened to the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles driver Rodney King.
Memphis Police Director Cerelyn Davis described the officer’s actions as “heinous, reckless and inhumane,” and said Friday that her department has not been able to substantiate the allegations of reckless driving that he was asked to stop.
“As I understand it now, I believe the stop is questionable,” he told Good Morning America.
Davis said he expected protests to erupt after the video’s release. But he appealed to the community to remain peaceful.
“I expect citizens to exercise their First Amendment rights to protest, to demand action and results, but we need to make sure our communities are safe in this process,” he said. “There is no calling card for inciting violence or destruction of our communities or citizens.”
Videos to be released after work, school
Video of the traffic stop will be released to the public Friday afternoon, Mulroy said, noting that state and local investigators want to complete as many interviews as possible before releasing it.
Davis told GMA that the decision to publish the video in the evening instead of earlier in the day has been made after discussions with other local leaders, who believe it is best to do it when school is out and people come home from work.
As a precaution, Memphis-area schools canceled all after-school activities and postponed school events scheduled for Saturday morning.
Nichols’ stepfather, Rodney Wells, told The Associated Press by phone that he and his wife, RowVaughn Wells, who is Nichols’ mother, discussed the second-degree murder charge and it was “not good.” He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.
“There are other charges, so I’m fine with that,” he said.
The Wellses were joined by a few dozen supporters on a chilly Thursday night for a candlelight vigil and prayer service at a Memphis skate park. Nichols, who has a four-year-old son, is an avid skateboarder.
Mother asked for a peaceful protest
RowVaughn Wells, who said his family was “grieving”, warned supporters of the “horrific” nature of the video to be released on Friday, but like Davis, called for peaceful protests.
“I don’t want us to burn our city, tear up the streets, because it’s not my son,” he said. “If you were here for me and Tire, you would protest peacefully.”
Court records show that all five former officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith — were taken into custody.
Martin’s lawyer, William Massey, confirmed that his client had turned himself in. He and Mills’ attorney, Blake Ballin, said their client would not plead guilty. Attorneys for Smith, Bean and Haley could not be reached.
“No one that night intended for Tire Nichols to die,” Massey said.
Second-degree murder is punishable by 15 to 60 years in prison under Tennessee law.
The attorneys for the Nichols family, Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, released a statement saying that Nichols “lost her life in a despicable way that demonstrates the dire need for change and reform to ensure this violence stops when low-threat procedures, such as in this case, stop traffic.”
At the White House, US President Joe Biden said the Nichols family and the city of Memphis deserved a “swift, thorough and transparent investigation.”
“Public trust is the foundation of public safety, and there are still many places in America today where the bonds of trust are broken or damaged,” Biden said in a statement.
Crump said the video shows Nichols being shocked, pepper-sprayed and taken into custody when he was pulled over near the home. He was returning from a suburban park where he had taken photos of the sunset.
Police said Nichols was stopped for reckless driving and at some point fled the scene.
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