Police in the city of Memphis, Tennessee, released video late Friday showing five police officers brutally beating Tire Nichols, a 29-year-old black man, for three minutes after pulling him over for a traffic stop.
The video, which is over an hour long and is taken from multiple cameras, also shows two officers holding Nichols while others kick and punch him. At least one officer uses a baton in the beating.
In a fragment of the video Nichols can be heard crying for his mother.
Memphis and other US cities have been bracing for possible protests after police announced they would release police body cam video and surveillance video showing the beating.
Nichols’ family has called for the protests to be peaceful. The protests began in Memphis on Friday night, with several dozen protesters blocking a busy bridge on Interstate 55.
Protesters also gathered for rallies in Washington, Atlanta, and New York. So far, there are no immediate reports of violence.
The attack on Nichols took place earlier this month after Memphis police pulled him over for alleged reckless driving. Nichols died of his injuries three days later.
The officers, all black, were charged Thursday with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, misconduct and official oppression. They have all been fired.
President Joe Biden said he was “very concerned” about the possibility of violence after the video was released. He further assured that he spoke with Nichols’ mother and said that he would urge Congress to pass legislation to counter police violence.
In a statement, Biden said he was “outraged” and “deeply hurt” after viewing the video. Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, called Thursday for the protesters to be peaceful.
“I don’t want us to burn down our city, tear up the streets, because that’s not what my son stood for,” she said.
During a press conference Friday at a Memphis church, Nichols’ stepfather, Rodney Wells, said the family was very satisfied with the legal process thus far, and urged people to protest if they needed to. peaceably.
“We want peace. We don’t want any kind of riot. We don’t want any kind of disturbance. We want a peaceful protest,” he said. “The family is very satisfied with the process, with the police chief, with the prosecutor’s office.”
At the press conference, the family’s attorneys, Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, applauded the district attorney for the speed with which charges were brought against the officers.
Romanucci said the officers were members of a “SCORPION” unit — an acronym for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods. These units, according to the lawyer, are known as “repression” units and he affirmed that they act with impunity. The attorney asked the Memphis Police Department to break them up immediately.
The Big City Chiefs Association, a professional organization of police executives representing the largest cities in the United States and Canada, said in a statement that “the death of Tire Nichols is deeply disturbing and the video is painful to watch.” ”.
The group added that the police officers who carried out the attack behaved in an “inhumane and indefensible manner” and praised Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis for promptly firing the officers. Federal law enforcement officials said they were prepared for any riot.
Speaking at a news conference Friday in Washington, FBI Director Christopher Wray said the bureau has alerted all of its field offices across the country to work with state and local law enforcement “in the event that something gets out of control.”
Wray said he had seen the video of the beating of Nichols and was horrified by its content. “I’m struggling to find a stronger word, but I would just say I was horrified,” Wray said.
Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland joined calls by other officials for any anti-police protest to be peaceful. “I want to say, and I want to repeat what the family has said, that the expressions of concern when people see this video be peaceful and not violent,” Garland said at the news conference.
“That is what the family has urged and that, of course, is what the Justice Department is also urging.” The Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into the case.
VOA’s Masood Farivar contributed to this report.
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