DThe Memphis, Tennessee police force has released multiple videos of a brutal police operation after a 29-year-old black man died in hospital. In videos released on Friday (local time), which were 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 pull him out of the car and push him to the ground. There is a first altercation, after which Nichols flees.
Additional shots show several police officers holding Nichols at another crossroads and brutally hitting 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 on Wednesday fired five of the officers involved, who, like their victim, are African American. 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.
Joe Biden speaks of righteous outrage
Tire Nichols’ death has been causing outrage in the United States for days. Before the video recordings were published, it was feared that they could trigger violent unrest. President Joe Biden said the footage “rightfully outraged” people. He himself was “full of pain”. At the same time, the President appealed: “Those who want justice should not resort to violence or destruction.”
The video also shows the shadow of a man beating Nichols with a baton.
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Image: AP
After the video was published, around 50 people initially protested against police violence in Memphis. Among other things, they chanted “No peace without justice”. People also gathered in other US cities.
The charges against the arrested police officers include second-degree murder, aggravated assault and kidnapping. Second-degree murder is an intermediate stage between murder and manslaughter in the state of Tennessee, where Memphis is located. Kidnapping in this case refers to the illegal detention of a human being.