Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old African-American man, died in early January in Memphis after being beaten by police, according to his family’s attorneys. The video of his arrest was released on Friday.
A new case of police violence is shaking the United States, nearly three years after the death of George Floyd, which had marked public opinion. Five police officers were charged and jailed on Thursday for murder after the death in early January of Tire Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee.
He died three days after his arrest by police, described as “appalling” by the director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
• Who was Tire Nichols?
Tire Nichols was 29 years old. He lived in Memphis, Tennessee, and worked for the freight company FedEx.
“I know everyone says they had a good son, and everyone’s son is good, but my son, he was a really good boy,” Tyre Nichols’ mother said during an interview. press conference, reports CNN this Friday.
Thursday, referring to his meetings with those close to Tire Nichols, prosecutor Steve Mulroy painted the portrait of an “almost perfect son”. “A jovial and happy person, who loved skateboarding,” he said.
• What are the circumstances of his arrest?
On January 7, the police wanted to arrest Tire Nichols for a traffic violation. As the officers approached, a “confrontation had taken place” and “the suspect had fled”, explained the police. Caught up, Tire Nichols was finally arrested but complained of having difficulty breathing and was hospitalized. He was dead three days later.
This Friday, the video of his fatal arrest was made public. Over more than an hour of video, three minutes captured by a camera placed high up concentrate the numerous punches, kicks and truncheons carried by the group of agents.
Footage captured by police pedestrian cameras shows them driving, chasing a car. When it stops, the policemen, all African-Americans, rush in, shouting: “Get out of this car! Get out of this f*** car”. Tire Nichols doesn’t even have time. One of the policemen tries to extract him with violence from the vehicle.
We then hear the young man trying to calm things down: “I didn’t do anything”, “I just want to go home!”. The policemen around him are shouting louder: “Lie down! Turn around!”
Then follows a beating: the man is sprayed with gas, targeted by a Taser and beaten, especially in the face, while he is kept on the ground. Then, Tire Nichols gesticulates on the ground before being dragged to a car where the police will try in vain to keep him seated, leaning against the door. For a brief moment, the camera passes over his face, he is swollen and covered in blood.
• Where is the investigation?
On January 20, Memphis police announced the firing of five officers involved in the arrest of Tire Nichols. The internal administrative investigation revealed that these police officers had “violated multiple rules of the department, including the excessive use of force, the duty to intervene and the duty to provide assistance”, is it explained in a press release.
The officers involved are “directly responsible for the physical violence committed against Mr. Nichols”, Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said Thursday, saying in a video that it was “not just a professional error, but a lack of humanity”.
“This act was heinous, irresponsible and inhumane.”
Other Memphis police officers are still under investigation, she also said.
The five fired officers were charged and jailed Thursday, prosecutor Steve Mulroy said at a press conference. These Memphis police officers, all African-Americans, are the subject of several charges, including murder, assault and battery or kidnapping.
• What is Joe Biden’s reaction?
Authorities expect large protests after the video is released. US President Joe Biden called for calm on Thursday in a press release.
“As Americans mourn, the Justice Department investigates, and authorities continue their work, I join Tire’s family in calling for peaceful protest. The anger is understandable, but the violence is never acceptable,” said Joe Biden in a statement, also calling for a “quick, complete and transparent investigation” into this tragedy.
“Tyre’s death is a painful reminder that we must do more to ensure our justice system delivers on the promise of fair and impartial justice,” Biden said in his statement.
The Democratic president urged Congress to pass a police reform bill, which passed the House of Representatives in 2021 but failed to pass the Senate hurdle. Since the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020, the US Congress has been unable to pass any ambitious police reform in the United States, including a ban on chokeholds.
