Body-camera footage of the police beating of an African-American man in Memphis, which resulted in the man’s hospitalization and subsequent death, was released Friday.
On Thursday, five cops were indicted in the killing of Tyre Nichols, who was allegedly stopped for reckless driving and subsequently beaten by the officers on January 7. He died three days later.
The Memphis Police Department fired the officers involved, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith. Police Chief C. J. Davis cited their alleged violation of department policies during the confrontation with Nichols as the reason for their termination.
The footage revealed a protracted struggle with police to get Nichols’s hands behind his back to handcuff him. One of the body cameras depicted a police officer running out of his car to join a couple other officers, who had pinned Nichols to the ground. The cops appeared to hit Nichols while he was being held by others. He yelled “Mom” repeatedly. One officer pepper-sprayed Nichols in the face while he lay on the concrete.
“Give me your hands!!,” one officer yelled repeatedly. “Turn around! Lay flat, godd*mnit!”
One cop walked away briefly before walking back to the scene with sudden aggression. “Give us your hands!” he bellowed, wielding a baton of some kind. The other officers attempted to hoist Nichols up on his feet, striking his face many times. Police reinforcements then arrived, with officers hovering over Nichols, who was on the ground again.
Each of the five former officers faces a charge of second-degree murder, two counts of official misconduct, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, one count of official oppression, and one count of aggravated assault. As of Friday morning, all the officers but Haley, who still is in custody, were released from jail on bond.
After reviewing the video of the incident, before it dropped for public viewing, Davis said she was “horrified” and “disgusted” during an appearance on ABC News’ “Good Morning America,” noting that there was an unusual amount of aggression on the part of the alleged perpetrators. FBI director Christopher Wray said he “was appalled.”
“We wanted to make sure that it wasn’t released too prematurely because we wanted to ensure that the DA’s office, the TBI [Tennessee Bureau of Investigation] and also the FBI had an opportunity to cross some of the hurdles that they had to in their investigation,” Davis said of the video. “And we’re sort of at a point now that the DA has made his statements in reference to charges of these officers, that this is a safe time for us to release the video.”
Shelby County district attorney Steve Mulroy told reporters that the actions of the officers are directly to blame for Nichols’s death.
Nichols’s family lawyer, Antonio Romanucci, said Friday that the kidnapping charge against the officers means they engaged in “terrorism.”
“When you think of 9/11, what’s the word that comes to mind? Terrorism. When you think of other heinous acts that have happened in churches across this country, any act of terrorism, what does that instill in you? That, ladies and gentlemen, is the definition that we are dealing with here on this kidnapping charge,” he said at a press briefing Friday.
The White House decried the officers’ conduct, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre demanding action against law-enforcement officers who “violate their oaths.”
“We must do more to ensure that our criminal-justice system lives up to the promise of fair and impartial justice,” she said.