Released Footage Shows Memphis Police Officers Beating Tyre Nichols
AllSides Summary
Body camera footage of Memphis police officers’ encounter with Tyre Nichols was released Friday night.
Video Details: The footage begins with officers pulling Nichols from his car and forcing him onto the road. Nichols runs from the scene and a chase ensues. In a subsequent clip, officers are seen catching up with Nichols, where they beat and pepper spray him while he calls out “mom” multiple times.
Response: An attorney for the Nichols family said that the officers “acted together ... to inflict harm, terrorism, oppression of liberty, oppression of constitutional rights, which led to murder.” Shelby County District Attorney Steven Mulroy stated that the “average viewer after watching the video will not have too much trouble understanding why all five officers are being held responsible for the death of Tyre Nichols.”
Background: Nichols died three days after the beating. He was a FedEx worker and has a 4-year-old son, according to the Nichols family attorney. All five involved officers were fired from the department and are facing murder charges.
How The Media is Covering It: The release of the footage is being covered across the spectrum. The Associated Press wrote that “the police savagely beat the 29-year-old.” In Fox News's coverage, the timeline of the incident begins when Nichols ran away from the police, leaving out the initial encounter when the officers pulled him from the car and shoved him to the ground.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
Tyre Nichols bodycam: Memphis authorities release video in deadly traffic stop
Memphis authorities have released police bodycam footage from a Jan. 7 traffic stop that preceded the death of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, who spent three days in the hospital before succumbing to his injuries, according to authorities.
On Jan. 8, District Attorney General Steve Mulroy requested that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation conduct an outside investigation into the deadly encounter.
Nichols ran from officers after a traffic stop at Raines and Ross Roads at 8:22 p.m., TBI said in a statement Thursday.
Police caught up with him again at Castlegate Lane...
From the Center
Memphis releases video of Tyre Nichols beating death by police officers
The city of Memphis released graphic video footage on Friday of the violent encounter between Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, and the five police officers charged with murder in his beating death after a traffic stop earlier this month.
One video clip shows officers dragging Nichols from the driver's seat of his car as he yells, "Damn, I didn't do anything ... I am just trying to go home," and force him to the ground as they order him to lay on his stomach, then squirt him in the...
From the Left
Memphis authorities release video in Tyre Nichols’ death
Video showing five Memphis officers beating a Black man was made public Friday, one day after they were charged with murder in the death of Tyre Nichols.
The footage shows Nichols being held down, struck by the Black officers and screaming for his mother as the police savagely beat the 29-year-old FedEx worker for three minutes. The Nichols family legal team has likened the assault to the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King.
Cities across the country braced for large demonstrations. Nichols’ relatives urged supporters to...
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