Prior to the video’s release, it was described as bad or worse than the Rodney King video, which sparked massive riots in Los Angeles in 1992. Sixty-two people died during the riots, including nine shot by the police and one shot by the National Guard.
Authorities in Memphis released the body camera footage on Friday from officers who allegedly beat 29-year-old Tyre Nichols during his arrest. Nichols died in the hospital three days later.
They're literally just passing him around between officers who want a swing… #TyreNichols pic.twitter.com/M0SIfNqIbO
— James Kozanitis (@JamKozy) January 28, 2023
BREAKING: Tyre Nichols video released in Memphis (AUDIO FIXED) pic.twitter.com/3xtYrLgUH2
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) January 28, 2023
According to an independent autopsy, Nichols “suffered extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating.”
The video, released in four parts shows one officer arriving at the traffic stop Nichols was originally pulled over at. The officers pull him out of the vehicle, cursing at him, before throwing him onto the ground. He asks the officers why he was pulled over but they do not answer him.
Nichols can be heard on the video asking officers what is going on.
“I didn’t do anything,” Nichols says, later telling officers “I’m just trying to get home. You’re really doing a lot right now.”
Police continue to tell him to get on the ground while Nichols says he is trying to comply.
The police then shock Nichols with a taser before he gets off the ground and runs away.
Nichols temporarily gets away from the officers who are seen resting by their cars, drinking water. One officer pours water in his eyes, presumably to wash out pepper spray that was also employed during the stop.
After a few minutes, one of the officers says “they found him.”
The second video of the confrontation shows neighborhood surveillance footage of Nichols’ second confrontation with the police, while the third and fourth videos show the same events from the perspective of the officer’s body cameras.
In the third video, the officer arrives as Nichols is already restrained by other officers. They continually pepper spray and shock Nichols with a taser. At one point an officer screams “I’m going to baton the f— out of you!” Moments later, two officers hold a standing Nichols as a third officer swings several haymakers at his face and head.
As officers hold Nichols’ arms and demand he “gives” them his hands, he can be heard saying “alright” while the officers continue to beat him. At one point, Nichols cries out for his mother, who lived roughly 100 yards away from where the beating occurred.
As the beating winds down, Nichols can be heard grunting and groaning incomprehensibly.
The fourth video shows the same confrontation from the perspective of another officer, but his body camera is covered for much of the video.
In the second video, taken with the surveillance camera, Nichols can be seen writhing on the ground after the beating. The officers do not provide aid to Nichols and prop the beaten man up against a police cruiser.
In the fourth video, after the covering comes off the body cam, officers are seen joking about the confrontation and speculating that Nichols “was on something.” One officer tells a non-responsive Nichols to sit up, before eventually pulling him up himself. At that moment you can see Nichols beaten and bloody face.
A short time later, two Memphis Fire Department officials can be seen attending to Nichols. It was previously reported that two members of the Fire Department had been “relieved of duty” while an investigation is ongoing. A spokesperson said they were involved in the initial care of Nichols, but declined to provide more details.
President Joe Biden released a statement after the video was released.
“We must do everything in our power to ensure our criminal justice system lives up to the promise of fair and impartial justice, equal treatment, and dignity for all,” the statement reads in part. “Real and lasting change will only come if we take action to prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again. That is why I called on Congress to send the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to my desk. When Senate Republicans blocked that bill, I signed an executive order that mandated stricter use of force standards and accountability provisions for federal law enforcement, as well as measures to strengthen accountability at the state and local level.”
Protests are expected in Memphis and other cities around the United States in response to the video. The five officers involved, who like Nichols are Black, have been fired and arrested. They are being charged with second-degree murder and other crimes.
Chicago, New York, Detroit, Washington DC, and Portland all have protests planned in relation to Nichols’ death. The Target Center in Minneapolis, which will host a game between the Memphis Grizzlies and the hometown Timberwolves, stated that the arena will have heightened security and will showcase a video honoring Nichols during the game. Minneapolis was the hometown of George Floyd who was killed by police in 2020, which along with other instances of killings by the police, sparked a wave of protests across the country.
At press time, there have been no reports of the protests turning violent and live streams from protests in Memphis and Washington DC show what appears to be peaceful and orderly protests.
Nichols’ family received a call from President Joe Biden on Friday afternoon, who said they admire their courage during the call. The family has been asking protesters to demand action but remain peaceful.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said that the SCORPION Unit that at least two of the officers who beat Nichols were a part of has been inactive since his death. The SCORPION Union, which stands for “Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods” is a saturation unit that concentrates a large number of officers in a small area in an effort to deter crime.
The family of Nichols has demanded that the unit be dissolved entirely and that other departments around the nation reevaluate their saturation units. Strickland said the SCORPION Unit is currently under an independent review.
After the release, Memphis protesters chanted “They’re taking our lives, we’re taking their money,” apparently a reference to the “defund the police” movement. “No Justice, No Peace” and “Please don’t shoot me dead, I got my hands above my head” could also be heard, along with protesters chanting Nichols’ name.
