Tyre Nichols murder: A look at inaccuracies between initial police report and horrific bodycam footage
Warning: Graphic content, readers’ discretion advised
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE: The initial police report, filed two hours after Tyre Nichols was beaten by police and arrested on January 7, 2023, does not match the body cam footage released of the incident. The report described Nichols as an aggravated assault suspect who "started to fight" with officers, while video footage released on January 27 showed officers dragging Nichols from his car and using pepper spray and a Taser on him while he tried to comply. One officer threatened to break Nichols' hands and then told him he would "knock your a** the f**k out."
While authorities have not released the police report, a photo of the report was posted by a Memphis radio host, Thaddeus Matthews, known as 'The Cursing Pastor,' Independent reports, Shelby County District Attorney Steven Mulroy confirmed that five Memphis police officers, Desmond Mills Jr, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith, charged with second-degree murder, confirmed January 30 that he has the same police report that refers to Martin as a "victim," CNN reports.
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Nichols' traffic stop was for reckless driving
Memphis police initially reported that they stopped Nichols because he was driving recklessly. "On January 7, 2023, at approximately 8.30 pm, officers in the area of Raines Road and Ross Road attempted to make a traffic stop for reckless driving," read the initial Memphis Police Department statement posted to Twitter on January 8. However, the video shows them pull Nichols from his car and tell him to get on the ground.
'Irate' suspect repeatedly fought officers and reached for police’s gun
According to The Crime Report, one officer threatened to fire his taser and another threatened to break Nichols' hands. At that point, Nichols said, "You guys are really doing a lot right now," to which the police report claimed Nichols was reaching for a police weapon at the time. However, the body cam footage shows no evidence that Nichols attempted to fight the officers or reach for a weapon. In fact, he did nothing as the five black officers attempted to detain him.
Nichols' brother Jamal Dupree said, "It's like a never-ending nightmare. As soon as I seen the photos from him in the hospital, I already knew that they treated my brother like an animal. They beat on him like he was nothing. I don't have to watch the video to know that."
'Video shows police straight up lie on reports'
Many bashed police for reporting a modified version. One reddit user wrote, "This is why I assume 100 per cent of what cops say, and police reports, to be just lies. So often we'll here "oh but he fought back" as justification for a shooting when there's no videos. Time and time again video shows police straight up lie on their reports to make themselves look better." Another said, "This should come as no surprise to anyone. It shows that police reports aren't the truth and yet they use them in a court of law as the absolute truth." While one concluded, "Not only is this a disgusting crime, it reveals that police paperwork is incredibly faulty at best."
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