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Shocking video shows Memphis cops smoking cigarette, looking for glasses as Tyre Nichols lay dying

The five officers brutally beat Tyre Nichols and abandoned him for nearly 30 minutes before paramedics arrived
PUBLISHED JAN 29, 2023
At least one officer smoked a cigarette immediately after the fatal beating (GoFundMe, INDEPENDENT tv/Video screenshot)
At least one officer smoked a cigarette immediately after the fatal beating (GoFundMe, INDEPENDENT tv/Video screenshot)

Warning: This article contains graphic content that could be distressing and triggering to some readers. Discretion is advised.

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE: At least one Memphis police officer was caught on camera smoking a cigarette while Tyre Nichols lay dying on the ground. Nichols, 29, passed away from his injuries after being brutally beaten by five Memphis police officers Memphis police officers during a traffic stop.

Speaking to NBC, Nichols' family claimed that not only did police neglect to provide aid as their son lay bleeding gravely, but at least one officer lit up a cigarette just after the fatal beating. The family's statements were made only hours before police planned to reveal bodycam footage of the arrest on January 7 and Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis described the arrest as "heinous, reckless, and inhumane."

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Concerning the alleged murder of Tyre Nichols, 29, five Memphis police officers were suspended and arrested on January 26. Before paramedics arrived, five officers brutally beat Nichols and abandoned him for nearly 30 minutes. The alleged incident allegedly took place on January 7 after Nichols was on his way home from snapping pictures of the sky when he was pulled over for allegedly driving carelessly. He was only a few minutes away from his mother and stepfather's home when five Memphis police officers viciously attacked him. Nichols died three days later in a hospital, and the policemen were charged with second-degree murder and additional charges and later released on bond.

(L-R) Tadarrius Bean, Emmit Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., Justin Smith and Demetrius Hailey (Memphis Police Department)
(L-R) Tadarrius Bean, Emmit Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., Justin Smith, and Demetrius Hailey (Memphis Police Department)

'That was almost the worst part of it'

The victim's stepfather Rodney Wells and family attorney Ben Crump watched the police footage before the confrontation was made public on Friday night. In response to the beating, Crump and Wells claimed to be astounded by the police's casual behavior. "That was almost the worst part of it," Wells said to NBC News. "Not only were they hanging out smoking cigarettes, but no one was attending to my (injured) son." Videos of the incident, which were made public by the Memphis Police Department on Friday night, showed an officer in a "police" sweatshirt strolling away from coworkers and smoking a cigarette after beating Nichols near Castlegate Lane.



 

In another shocking instance caught on camera, the 29-year-old was pepper sprayed by police during his contact with them following a traffic stop, One police officer also appears to have pepper sprayed himself and another by accident. In another video, one of the Memphis police officers can be seen pacing back and forth in agony as another officer washes the mace out of his eye with water, Daily Mail reports. The supporting officer asks, "Where are my damn glasses at?". He then exclaims, "I can't see jack s***," as he constantly asks to have each of his eyes wiped. The policeman eventually locates his spectacles and recalls nearly getting pepper sprayed in his eyes.

Nichols, 29, was taken to the hospital following the incident in critical condition and died just three days later. "It’s almost as if the failure to render aid was just as offensive as the brutality itself," Crump stated.

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