Officials on Friday released video footage showing police beating Tire Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee, earlier this month, causing injuries that later led to his death.
On January 7, five police officers tried to arrest Nichols, a 29-year-old black man, after he was pulled over while driving. The incident escalated into a physical altercation that left Nichols hospitalized, state investigators said. He died three days later.
The five officers involved, who were fired after Nichols’ death, were indicted by a grand jury in Memphis’s Shelby County on Thursday for murder, among other charges related to the killing.
A series of videos released by the Memphis Police Department on Friday evening showed Nichols being punched, kicked, hit with a baton and repeatedly pepper sprayed by a group of police officers.
The harrowing footage captured a 35-minute window during which traffic was stopped, and Nichols was eventually placed on a stretcher with potentially fatal injuries.
In the video, which was captured by a combination of body-worn cameras and a mounted pole camera, Nichols was recorded telling officers “I didn’t do anything” as he was pulled from the car.
After being pushed to the ground – where he appeared to comply with the officers’ demands – and being tackled by the officers, Nichols is shown running away. A separate video taken minutes later shows two police officers holding Nichols from behind, while a third punched him repeatedly in the face, before hitting the fourth Nichols using a baton. Nichols could be heard screaming “mommy” over and over.
Nichols is the father of a four-year-old boy, CNN and AP reported Friday.
At one point, the footage shows Nichols weak and weak, with police trying to pull him away. “I’m going to get out [of] you,” said the officer.
At least eight officers were on the scene.
In a statement released after the recording, president Joe Biden said: “The recording released this evening will make people very angry.” He said that those seeking justice should not resort to violence.
There were protests on Friday night in Memphis, near the White House in Washington, New York and elsewhere around the US.
“In a word, it’s horrific,” David Ranch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, said of the footage of the attack. “Let’s be clear: what happened here does not reflect true policing. This is wrong. This is a crime.”
US Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters on Friday morning that he had been briefed on the video, calling it “very disturbing . . . horrifying, from the information I have given”. He urged the public to be “peaceful and non-violent” when it was released.
Christopher Wray, director of the FBI, said that all FBI field offices were ordered to “work together” with their partners, especially in Memphis, “if something goes wrong”.
For Memphis, a majority-Black city of 630,000, the incident has revived memories of the infamous Rodney King attack by the Los Angeles police in 1991. It is also one of the most high-profile police killings in the US since the death of George. Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others sparked national protests three years ago.
On Thursday, the five former Memphis police officers involved in the arrest of Nichols, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills, Jr., and Justin Smith, who are all black, were indicted on seven counts: second degree. murder, aggravated assault, two forms of aggravated kidnapping, two forms of official wrongdoing, and official oppression.
Bond was set for each between $250,000 and $350,000.
Memphis police chief Cerelyn Davis said in a video statement that “this incident was horrific, reckless and inhumane” and that the public will see for themselves after the video is released.
“I hope you feel what the Nichols family feels. I hope you are outraged by the disregard for human rights,” he said.
Nichols’ death is being investigated by city, state, and federal officials, while the Justice Department is conducting a civil rights investigation.