After a Memphis police officer was observed seemingly kicking Tyre Nichols in the face for the first time, it took another 26 minutes for a stretcher to arrive at the scene, where Nichols was lying on the ground with his head in his hands.
According to one of the four films that were provided by the authorities on Friday night, which captured the vicious assault on 29-year-old Nichols, who was pulled over during a traffic stop on January 7 and was found dead three days later, this is what happened.
The video presented the scene from four different perspectives: Four of the recordings were from cameras that were worn by police officers, and one of them came from a surveillance camera that was installed on a pole. The films showed Nichols being punched, hit with a baton, seemingly kicked in the face, and sprayed with an irritant. Additionally, it appeared like he was sprayed with an irritant. They also caught him on camera wailing for his mother and stating that he was desperately wanting to get back home.
And they seemed to show the aggressive, chaotic, and at times contradictory demands that the police made of Nichols, such as demanding that he provide his hands while his arm was being held and he was being pulled to his feet. Additionally, it appears that police officers are punching him while he is being held.
On Friday evening, Nichols’ stepfather, Rodney Wells, went on MSNBC and declared that the people who were responsible for what happened to his stepson were “monsters.”
It was estimated that my son weighed 150 pounds. “Each of these cops had over 200 hours of training,” Wells added. “That’s 1,000 pounds beating on my son, using him as a piñata — all this unnecessary force that was really not needed for a kid that wasn’t resisting or just trying to get home to his parents,” the father said. “All this unnecessary force that was really not needed for a kid that wasn’t resisting or just trying to get home to his parents.”
A video of the first traffic stop depicts a chaotic scenario in which officers are seen dragging Nichols from the vehicle, shouting commands over one another, and at times threatening him. According to what appears to be shown in the videos, Nichols is lying on the ground when he gets sprayed in the face with something that could be pepper spray or another irritant. He then flees.
You may watch the video by clicking here. Warning: It depicts violent violence, which may be upsetting to some viewers.
A video taken from a pole camera from above shows the scenario where authorities had located Nichols at another location and had him in custody. Nichols may be seen lying on the ground in the footage when the camera pans over to him. The footage indicates that he gets kicked and beaten by others.
Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis, the chief of police for the city, has previously referred to the behavior depicted in the unsettling and gruesome video as “heinous, reckless, and brutal.” On Friday night, Vice President Joe Biden expressed his shock and outrage, describing the disturbing content of the recordings as “horrific.”
After the incident, Nichols, who was 29 years old, was taken to the hospital in a critical condition. He passed away just three days later. In the beginning, the police said that Nichols bolted during the reckless driving check, and that a “confrontation” ensued in an effort to detain him. However, as time went on, more information about what happened between Nichols and the policemen became available.
On the other hand, Davis stated on Friday that the claim of reckless driving could not be “substantiated” after an examination and study of the available camera footage. Davis made this statement to MSNBC.
Five Memphis police officers have been terminated from their positions and charged with various crimes, including second-degree murder. Davis stated on Wednesday that the investigations into the alleged policy violations that occurred during the stop are still ongoing with regard to other officers. Following the dissemination of the recordings on Friday evening, two Shelby County sheriff’s deputies who had been seen at the scene were taken out of active duty pending the outcome of an inquiry.
The Videos in Question
The city of Memphis published the four movies at approximately 6 o’clock local time. Together, they run for almost 67 minutes. The films blur the license plates of the vehicles that are parked in the area, but the faces of the people who are involved in the interaction are not obscured in any way.
In one of the videos, an officer can be seen coming at the traffic stop, pointing his rifle at the automobile, and yelling something to the effect of “you’re going to get your a— blasted the f— out.”
The video reveals that the officers are yelling at him to lie on the ground and put his hands behind his back while he is lying on his side on the ground. One officer is holding one arm, another officer is holding the other arm beneath him, and a third officer is holding him.
At one point, Nichols exclaims, “OK, dude, darn!” and continues by remarking, “You guys are really accomplishing a lot right now…. I’m simply trying to get back home at this point.
The footage shows that when he informs the officers who are yelling at him, “I am on the ground!” He appears to be sprayed with a chemical irritant after they continue to yell at him. The video demonstrates that he is able to stand up and run away even when an officer is shooting a Taser at him.
According to his mother, the three additional recordings show the moment when police caught up with Nichols in a neighborhood, which was less than 80 yards from her house. In one of those videos, Nichols can be seen lying on the ground, and it appears that two cops are punching him while they are standing over him. After a few moments, he can be heard yelling the word “mom.”
The video indicates that while Nichols is on the ground, one cop appears to kick him in the head, and then another officer appears to hit him with a baton. It does not appear like Nichols put up any kind of visible opposition in the videos.
The video appears to show that while Nichols is standing and appears to be detained by two officers, a third officer hits him repeatedly across the face or head. As a result, Nichols’ legs give out from under him, and he collapses.
In one of the videos, Nichols can be seen being handcuffed and sitting up on the ground with his back against a car while officers congregate around him and converse. This takes place after the beating. One of them claims that the chemical irritant affected them both, and another one says that the substance caused him to hurt his leg. After less than two minutes had passed, the video shows Nichols lying on his side, slumped over.
At 8:41 p.m., the image of the first medic was captured by a surveillance camera; nevertheless, it is unknown what kind of aid he provided. There is a period of time that passes in which Nichols is not attended to by anyone physically for five minutes. In the footage, he can be seen rolling around on the street while the officers are talking in the background.
An officer can be seen on one of the videos claiming that they attempted to pull Nichols over, but he did not stop when they did so, and that he then “swerved like he was going to crash my car” before coming to a stop at a red light while his turn signal was activated.
In the footage, the officer can be heard saying, “So we jump out of the car.” “From that point on, s—- happened.”
Biden Says He Was “Outraged and Deeply Pained”
Following the dissemination of the films, Biden expressed his indignation in a statement that he issued. In addition to speaking with Nichols’ parents earlier on Friday, he has demanded a prompt probe that is comprehensive and open to public scrutiny.
“Like so many others, I was horrified and terribly pained to watch the awful video of the beating that led to Tyre Nichols’ murder,” said Vice President Joe Biden. “The beating that culminated in Tyre Nichols’ death was caught on camera.” “It is yet another sad reminder of the profound terror and trauma, the suffering, and the tiredness that black and brown Americans experience every single day,” said one commentator. “It is a reminder that we must forget.”
Indignation was voiced by police chiefs, public officials, and mayors from cities all throughout the United States. They condemned the behavior of the officers involved and stated that what happened to Nichols should have never taken place.
Earlier on Friday, the Director of the FBI, Christopher Wray, stated, “I have seen the tape myself, and I will tell you that I was shocked.”