Video from body-worn police cameras and pole-mounted cameras emerged online the day after officers were charged with second-degree murder, assault, kidnapping, official misconduct and coercion in Nichols’ death.
The officers, all black, were fired from the police force last week. Nichols, 29, was hospitalized, lived with his mother and stepfather and died of his injuries three days after the collision in the town where he worked for FedEx.
Four video clips document an aggressive escalation of violence against a motorist who police say was initially arrested for reckless driving. The police chief said that no reason for the interruption has since been determined.
Leaked Video Captures Brutal Beating of Tyre Nichols
The beatings appeared to continue well beyond the point where Nichols could pose a threat to police.At one point, two officers held him upright while another punched him repeatedly in the face. , watched by other officers at the scene without intervening. The videotaped ordeal transformed Nichols, a father of four, into the latest face of an American racial justice movement traumatized by the 2020 killing of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis.
Friends and family have described Nichols as a gentle skier and claimed that he had recently taken photography lessons. He grew up in Sacramento, California and moved to the Memphis area before the coronavirus pandemic.
After watching the video, Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner said he was “concerned about the two officers who appeared on the scene” after Nichols’ arrest. He said on Twitter that these lawmakers have been removed from their duties pending the results of an internal investigation.
After the video aired Friday night, dozens of protesters in Memphis marched along Interstate 55 and blocked traffic near the bridge across the Mississippi River into Arkansas.
“Videos reveal Tyre Nichols waited 22 minutes for ambulance”
A spokesperson for the New York City Police Department said three people have been arrested for allegedly damaging a police vehicle during a protest in Times Square. Demonstrations in other cities, including Atlanta, Washington and Sacramento, appeared largely peaceful.
The first video released Friday shows officers dragging Nichols out of the driver’s seat of his car and pulling up at an intersection as he yells, “I didn’t do anything… I’m just trying to get home.” ground, have him lie down on his stomach and spray pepper spray on his face.
Nichols breaks free and runs into the street, with the police in pursuit. At least one fired a stun gun at him. Other footage shows an ongoing struggle after police again caught up with Nichols in a nearby neighborhood. As two officers hold him down, a third kicks him and a fourth hits him with what appears to be a truncheon before another hits Nichols.
