WARNING: VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED, GRAPHIC CONTENT AND LANGUAGE
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Videos showing the violent arrest of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, a Memphis man who died three days after he was beaten by police in a traffic stop Jan. 7, have been released by Memphis officials.
The videos, which consists of both body cam footage and street surveillance footage, were made public by the city of Memphis Friday evening.
Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis said Friday morning that she wasn’t prepared for what she saw.
“In my 36 years in law enforcement, I don’t think I have witnessed the disregard for a human being displayed in this video,” Davis said.
Video 1 shows the initial traffic stop by Memphis Police. Tyre Nichols is dragged out of his car and ordered to the ground. He appears to comply and is calm but police use a Taser stun gun on him several times. Nichols gets up and runs from the scene.
Video 2 is from a police surveillance camera near Ross Road and Castlegate Lane. It shows a bird’s-eye view of the second confrontation between Tyre Nichols and Memphis Police. Officers appear to hold Nichols to the ground, kicking and striking him several times. He is then dragged and lays in the street for several minutes.
Video 3 is an officer’s body camera video showing Memphis Police striking and pepper spraying Tyre Nichols in the street as he calls out “Mom!” several times.
Video 4 shows a view from a different officer’s body camera of the second confrontation.
Five now-former Memphis Police officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith — were fired for misconduct, indicted by a grand jury Thursday and taken into custody.
Each is charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of official misconduct and official oppression. By Friday morning, they had posted bond.
Police stopped Nichols near his home in the Hickory Hill neighborhood around 8:22 p.m. Jan. 7. There was an altercation between Nichols and several officers and pepper spray was deployed, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said.
Nichols fled on foot before a second confrontation with police. He experienced “serious injuries” at this location, Mulroy said, and later was taken away by ambulance after an “elapsed period of time.”
Nichols was a father to a 4-year-old and worked at FedEx with his stepfather. Family has said he enjoyed skateboarding, photography, Starbucks and watching the sunset from a park in Memphis.
He died in a Memphis hospital three days after his encounter with police. Family said in some of his last words, he called out for his mother, whose name was tattooed on his arm.
