Memphis, Tennessee – Bodycam footage of a violent beating of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, who died three days after the incident, has been released by Memphis authorities on Friday.
The footage shows five officers, who are also Black, holding Nichols down and striking him repeatedly as he screams for his mother and pleads to be allowed to go home.
The incident occurred when Nichols was pulled over for alleged reckless driving. He was pepper sprayed, kicked, and punched by the five officers, who have since been charged with his murder and lost their jobs.
The video shows the officers chasing and pummelling Nichols, leaving him on the pavement propped against a squad car, and fist-bumping and celebrating their actions.
The video begins with the first officer pulling Nichols out of his car, while Nichols can be heard saying “I didn’t do anything.”
The officers then force him to the ground as he protests his innocence. An officer can be heard threatening to break his arms as they instructed him to get on his stomach and lie flat. One officer is heard yelling, “Tase him! Tase him!”
A scuffle ensued in which Nichols broke free of the officers and fled on foot. The officer wearing the bodycam, who is white and not one of the five facing charges, can be heard saying that he hopes his fellow officers “stomp” Nichols when they find him.
After being caught at another intersection, Nichols was beaten with a baton, kicked, and punched again by the officers.
As two officers were restraining him, a third walked up and kicked him in the head twice, and a fourth officer pulled out an expandable baton and struck Nichols several times.
It took more than 20 minutes for medical attention to be provided to Nichols, even though two fire department officers arrived on the scene with medical equipment within 10 minutes.
A significant portion of the video shows officers speaking to one another and recounting details of the incident.
Some of the officers claimed that Nichols “swung” at them or reached for their guns, but these allegations are not supported by the released video.
Memphis Police Director Cerelyn Davis described the officers’ actions as “heinous, reckless and inhumane,” and said that her department has been unable to substantiate the reckless driving allegation that prompted the stop.
This incident has sparked widespread outrage and calls for justice for Tyre Nichols and his family.
