They reveal the video of the violent arrest of Tire Nichols in Memphis

Editor’s Note: This post contains explicit descriptions of violence.

() — The city of Memphis released police body camera footage and surveillance video Friday showing the traffic stop and violent police confrontation that led to the death of Tire Nichols, a 29-year-old black man. Nichols passed away three days after the incident from the injuries he sustained. There are five former police officers criminally charged on various charges.

Video shows police officers’ initial confrontation with Tire Nichols in Memphis

During the initial encounter between Tire Nichols and the Memphis Police, an officer can be seen driving to the scene of a traffic stop. The uniformed man gets out of the car with his weapon drawn towards the scene.

As the policeman approaches the scene, an officer yells at Nichols, “Get out of the car!”

The cops pull Nichols out of the vehicle and he can hear someone say, “Sit on the ground and turn his c*** around.” Nichols responds by saying, “I didn’t do anything” and “okay, I’m on the ground.”

The officers yell at her to lie down and threaten to give her an electric shock.

A policeman yells that he is going to electrocute him. Another agent tells him, “P*** put your hands behind your back before he breaks them.”

Nichols can then be heard telling them: “You guys are overreaching right now. I’m on the ground.”

A struggle ensues and Nichols gets up and runs, the cops starting to chase him.

The officer can be heard reporting on his radio that the suspect they had has gotten away and giving a description of what Nichols was wearing.

The cop returns to the scene where other officers are coughing and one says he can’t see anything.

The agent finds a bottle of water and starts pouring it in his eyes.

The policeman discharges his taser cartridge.

Tire Nichols yelled for his mother during confrontation with police, video reveals

During video released Friday of the arrest that led to the death of Tire Nichols, a Memphis police officer is heard yelling at him: “I’m going to give you a fucking fucking beating. Give me your hands.”

Tire Nichols screams for his mother, as the video shows the policeman arriving on the scene at a second location, in a residential neighborhood.

The officers tell Nichols to “give them your hand”, as a struggle ensues on the ground. A policeman asks Nichols, “Do you want to get (pepper-sprayed) again?”

Two officers punched and kicked Nichols while he was on the ground.

Nichols yells, “Mamaááááááááá.”

An officer then shows up and pepper sprays Nichols.

Nichols continued to yell for her mother during the incident.

The cops continue to tell Nichols to shake their hands as Nichols continues to yell for his mother.

Previously, had obtained clips of police radio communication before Nichols’ arrest. Parts of the recording are inaudible, but some of the conversation between an agent and the operator can be heard.

A policeman is heard saying “we’ve got a black man on the run” and then gives instructions to “run the car registration tag and find out what the address is”, followed by what sounds like Nichols in distress.

It is not clear where in the entire incident this audio takes place or which officer is speaking.

What do we know about the incident?

The Memphis Police Department fired five police officers in connection with the death of Tire Nichols. Above: Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III. Bottom: Desmond Mills, Jr., Justin Smith. Credit: Memphis Police Dept.

Nichols was pulled over by Memphis officers on January 7 for alleged reckless driving, according to a police statement. That day, at approximately 8:30 pm local time, agents stopped a vehicle.

“A confrontation ensued between officers and the driver of the vehicle, later identified as Nichols, fled on foot, according to Memphis police. Officers detained him and “another confrontation ensued” resulting in Nichols’ arrest, according to the police. police.

An ambulance was called to the scene of the arrest after Nichols complained of difficulty breathing, according to police, and he was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

On January 10, three days after the arrest, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) announced that Nichols had died from injuries sustained in the “use of force incident with officers.” , according to a statement.

He had a confrontation with Memphis police officers, and suffered “extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating,” according to preliminary results of an autopsy commissioned by lawyers for his family.

What people who saw the video before its release have said

Rodney Wells, Nichols’ stepfather, who viewed the footage Monday with his family, lawyers and police officers, said it was clear Nichols “feared for his life” and ran. “He didn’t run because he was trying to get rid of any drugs, any guns, anything like that. He ran because he feared for his life. And when you watch the video, you’ll see why he feared for his life. “.

RowVaughn Wells, Nichols’ mother, asked at a vigil on Thursday that she wants supporters to demonstrate peacefully after seeing the video. “When that recording comes out tomorrow, it’s going to be horrible,” Wells said. “I haven’t seen it, but from what I’ve heard, it’s going to be horrible.”

Lawyers for Nichols’ family also viewed video of the arrest on Monday and described it as “appalling.” Nichols was shocked, pepper-sprayed and physically restrained, family attorney Ben Crump said. To the point that he compared it to the beating Rodney King received from the Los Angeles police.

Crump described the video as “appalling”, “deplorable” and “appalling”. He also maintained that RowVaughn Wells, Nichols’s mother, was unable to view the first minute of footage after hearing him ask, “What did I do?” At the end of the recording, Nichols can be heard calling his mother three times, the attorney said.

In that sense, Crump said that the video “will evoke strong emotions, very strong”, and reiterated the repeated calls of both the family of Nichols and the police that any demonstration or protest by the death of Nichols be done peacefully.

Antonio Romanucci, another attorney for the Nichols family, said “it was an absolute, shameless, non-stop beating of this young man for three minutes”, likening Nichols to “a human piñata”.

For her part, Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” told ‘s Don Lemon on Friday that the video footage shows “acts that defy humanity.”

“You’re going to see a disregard for life, the duty of care we’ve all sworn to, and a level of physical interaction that is above and beyond what is required in law enforcement,” stated Cerelyn “CJ” Davis. this Friday to Don Lemon.

“People who see it will feel what the family felt. And if they don’t feel it, they are not human beings. And we are all human beings. And I think there will be some sadness as well,” he added.

“I heard him call his mother, his mother,” Davis said, referring to the video. “Just the contempt for humanity… That’s what really tugs at your heartstrings and makes you wonder: why did everyone who came to the scene not care about this person?”

“I was working in law enforcement during the Rodney King incident, and it’s very much like that kind of behavior,” he said, referring to the 1991 beating by Los Angeles police that sparked outrage around the world. country. “I would say it’s about the same, if not worse.”