28 January 2023
TYRE NICHOLS VIDEO VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED, GRAPHIC CONTENT AND LANGUAGE WARNING.
VIDEOS 1,2, AND 3 OF 4 ARE BELOW. THE OTHER VIDEO WILL BE UPLOADED INTO THIS STORY SHORTLY.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Videos showing the violent arrest of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, a Memphis man who died 3 days after he was beaten by police in a traffic stop Jan. 7, has been released by Memphis officials.
This photo provided by the Nichols family shows Tyre Nichols, who had a passion for photography and was described by friends as joyful and lovable. Nichols was just minutes from his home in Memphis, Tenn., on Jan. 7, 2023, when he was pulled over by police and fatally beaten. Five Memphis police officers have since been charged with second-degree murder and other offenses. (Courtesy of the Nichols family via AP)
The videos, which consists of both body cam footage and street surveillance footage, were made public by the city of Memphis Friday evening. This story will be updated with a full transcription of events.
Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis said Friday morning that she wasn’t prepared for what she saw.
“In my 36 years in law enforcement, I don’t think I have witnessed the disregard for a human being displayed in this video,” Davis said.
Five now-former Memphis Police officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith — were fired for misconduct, and indicted by a grand jury Thursday and taken into custody.
Left: Justin Smith, top center: Emmitt Martin III, top right: Desmond Mills Jr., center left: Demetrius Haley, right bottom: Tadarrius Bean (Photos provided by Memphis Police Department)
Each is charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of official misconduct and official oppression. By Friday morning, they had posted bond.
Police stopped Nichols near his home in the Hickory Hill neighborhood around 8:22 p.m. Jan. 7. There was an altercation between Nichols and several officers and pepper spray was deployed, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said.
Nichols fled on foot before a second confrontation with police. He experienced “serious injuries” at this location, Mulroy said, and later was taken away by ambulance after an “elapsed period of time.”
Nichols was a father to a 4-year-old and worked at FedEx with his stepfather. Family has said he enjoyed skateboarding, photography, Starbucks and watching the sunset from a park in Memphis.
He died in a Memphis hospital three days after his encounter with police. Family said in his last words, he called out for his mother, whose name was tattooed on his arm.
This is a developing story.