How was the video of Tyre Nichols arrest captured? Footage shows cops assaulting and tasing 29-year-old
Warning: Graphic content, readers’ discretion advised.
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE: Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was violently arrested and on Friday, January 27, officials released the bodycam footage from the incident. Nichols' death earlier in January prompted five officers, who were later fired as a result of the incident, to be charged with second-degree murder among other charges. Nichols died just three days after what his family and the police alleged to be a "violent confrontation that started with a traffic stop." The disturbing video has sparked national outrage along with calls for police reform. Protests were mostly calm in cities across the country on Friday, January 27, night.
Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr and Justin Smith were charged with Nichols' death and turned themselves in to authorities on Thursday, January 26. In addition to second-degree murder, they have been slapped with charges of aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. After posting bonds ranging from $250,000 to $350,000 for each of the five, they were all released from the Shelby County Jail early on Friday, as reported by The New York Post.
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How was the video of Tyre Nichols captured?
The four videos were recorded from police bodycams and street surveillance cameras and were shared on the city of Memphis' Vimeo account just before 7 pm EST. After being pulled over, the footage shows officers removing Nichols from his car. Next, they show a violent confrontation in which Nichols flees from the officers. Finally, they show distressing shots of Nichols being restrained and assaulted by five officers at a suburban junction, as reported by Intelligencer.
Tyre Nichols is seen pulling out of his car in bodycam footage
The videos start after Nichols had already been stopped. An officer arrives next to offer assistance and as officers drag Nichols out of the driver's seat, he protests, "I didn't do anything." As they tell him to get on the ground, he at first seems relaxed. He says, "Stop," while turning his back on the car and looking at the officers.
Video shows cops viciously beat, pepper spray and taser Tyre Nichols
Nichols then says, "OK, all right," as a police officer points a taser at him. They keep telling him to get on the ground, turn around and put his hands behind his back. "You guys are really doing a lot right now," Nichols says, adding, "I’m just trying to go home." When an officer uses pepper spray, he is shown on his side. Nichols then appears to fight free of their hold and rise to his feet before bolting away as they fire a stun gun. According to a timestamp on the video, the man takes off his shirt and starts running at 8:26 pm.
Tyre Nichols screams for help as cops stand over him
By 8.33 pm, two additional bodycam recordings show the officers tackling Nichols at a different junction. An officer is then heard stating, "He on something," while the screen of one bodycam appears to fall off and remains blurry in darkness for several minutes. Then, two men are on top of Nichols and the camera of another cop captures him running as they keep yelling for him to give them his hands. He can be heard calling for his mother.
Tyre Nichols gets badly beaten up
They use pepper spray, which knocks one officer to the ground after he appears to have been hit by it as well. He then retreats for a while before coming back with a baton. "Watch out, I'ma baton the f**k out of you," the cop screams as he returns to the scuffle, where officers are still restraining Nichols. He repeats "Give us your hands!" for several seconds. Nichols appears to be limp or dazed, and another cop is seen striking him in the face.
The video above appears to capture officers repeatedly punching, kicking and pummeling Nichols with a baton. Around 8.37pm, they finally release him, and he is shown writhing while tied to the ground. Approximately three minutes after the police pull him over and lean him up against a car, medical personnel show up and start tending to his wounds. The two policemen in the intersection say Nichols may have attempted to take a gun at around 8.42pm.
"We tried to get him to stop," a cop is heard saying, adding, "He didn’t stop." He asserted that after using the sirens and giving Nichols numerous stop orders. "He drove around, swerved like he was gonna hit my car," the officer says, adding, "Then I’m like God damn like what are we doing? He pulled up to the red light, stopped at the red light. Put his turn signal on. So we jumped out the car, s**t went from there," as per FoxNews.
As activists in Memphis, New York City, Los Angeles, and other cities throughout the nation prepared to take to the streets, Nichols' family begged for non-violent demonstrations. "Please, please protest, but protest safely," Nichols' stepfather, Rodney Wells, implored at a press conference Friday, January 27. “We want peace, that's what the family wants, that's what the community wants. We need to do this peacefully. The family is very satisfied with the process, the police chief, the DA. We are very, very pleased with that," Wells said, per Yahoo!
In a written statement, President Joe Biden echoed the family's request for non-violent demonstrations. He reportedly stated, “Outrage is understandable, but violence is never acceptable. Violence is destructive and against the law. It has no place in peaceful protests seeking justice.”