Memphis, Tennessee police have released multiple videos of a brutal police operation after a 29-year-old black man died in hospital.
In videos released yesterday (local time), captured by the body cameras of several police officers involved and a stationary camera, Tire Nichols can be seen being stopped in his vehicle by the police officers. The officers then pulled him out of the car and pushed him to the ground. There is a first altercation, after which Nichols flees.
Additional shots show how several police officers hold Nichols at another street crossing and brutally beat him repeatedly with fists and a baton. Nichols calls for his mother loudly and clearly several times. At least one police officer repeatedly kicks him in the head while the others pin Nichols to the ground. After that, emergency responders drag the critically injured Nichols to a nearby emergency vehicle and lean his torso against the side of the vehicle, as seen in the video images.
The Memphis police fired five of the officers involved on Wednesday. They used excessive force in the incident on January 7 and did not provide any help. Prosecutors charged her with murder, among other things. The family’s lawyers denounced the US police’s racist treatment of black people in the country. Deadly police violence is a regular occurrence in the United States. Often the victims are black people.
