Tennessee, United States.- A video showing five Memphis police officers beating an African-American was released this Friday, a day after the officers were charged with murder in the death of Tire Nichols.
The footage shows Nichols on the ground, being beaten by black officers for three minutes and screaming for his mother. The 29-year-old’s family’s legal team compared the assault to the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King.
Cities across the country prepared for large demonstrations. Nichols’ relatives urged a peaceful protest.
“This young man, by definition of the law in this state, was terrified. Not by one, not by two, but by five officers who we now know acted in concert,” said attorney Antonio Romanucci, who is representing the Nichols family.
“The police officers acted together to inflict harm, terrorism, oppression of freedom, oppression of constitutional rights, which led to murder.”
Memphis Police Director Cerelyn Davis described the officers’ actions as “egregious, reckless and inhumane,” and said her department has been unable to substantiate the reckless driving charge that led to the arrest.
In an interview with The Associated Press, he noted there is no video of the traffic stop showing Nichols driving recklessly.
During the initial stop, the video shows the officers “aggressive, loud, used profanity and probably scared Mr. Nichols from the start,” he said.
“We know that something happened before this officer or the officers got out of their vehicles… but we don’t know what happened,” he added.
“All we know is that the amount of force that was applied in this situation was exaggerated,” Davis said.
Faced with the likelihood of protests, the police director told ABC that she and other local officials decided it was best to release the video in the afternoon, once classes ended and people returned home from work.
Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, warned of the “horrifying” nature of the video but called for peace.
“I do not want us to burn our city, destroying the streets, because that is not what my son defended,” he said yesterday.
“If they are here for me and Tire then they will protest peacefully.”
At the White House, President Joe Biden said he was “very concerned” about the prospect of violence, calling for the demonstrations to remain peaceful.
He added that he spoke with Nichols’ mother, informing her that he will “make a case” before Congress to pass the George Floyd Act “to get this under control.” The legislation, which has been stalled, is intended to address police misconduct and excessive use of force, as well as boost federal and state accountability efforts.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said he was “appalled” by the video and that all FBI field officers have been alerted to work with state and local partners, including in Memphis, “in case something goes wrong.” control”.
Court records show that the five former police officers – Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith – were taken into custody.
The former officers each face charges of second degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. Four of the five former police officers posted bail and were released this morning, according to court and jail records.
Martin’s attorney, William Massey, and Mills’ attorney, Blake Ballin, said their clients will plead not guilty.
“No one out there that night intended for Tire Nichols to die,” Massey stated.
Second degree murder carries a penalty of between 15 and 60 years in prison under Tennessee law.
Patrick Yoes, national president of the Fraternal Order of Police, condemned the alleged actions of Memphis police officers.
“The event as described to us does not constitute legitimate police work or a traffic stop gone wrong. This is a criminal assault under the guise of law,” Yoes said in a statement.
Protests are planned for tonight in Memphis, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Portland, Oregon and Washington.
New York Mayor Eric Adams, a former police officer, said he and other mayors across the country had been informed by the White House ahead of the release of the video, which, he warned, “would cause pain and sadness in a lot of us. It’ll make us mad.”
Outraged, Biden calls for calm
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, declared himself “outraged and deeply hurt” after the images of the brutal beating of the Police by Tire Nichols were released.
“The images released tonight will rightly outrage people,” Biden said in a statement, urging protesters to express themselves peacefully.
“Those who seek justice should not resort to violence or destruction.”
