DISTURBING body camera footage of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols being punched and kicked in the face by cops while screaming for his mother has led to outrage and protests across the US.
Nichols died from his injuries on January 10, three days after he was pulled over in a traffic stop and brutally beaten by five officers from the Memphis Police Department.
All five officers involved, who are all Black, have been fired and face murder charges as of Thursday.
The hour of footage released by authorities on Friday shows officers stopping Nichols after they claimed he was driving recklessly.
Officers pulled the man out of his car and screamed at him to get out of the ground while he yelled "I didn't do anything" and "I'm just trying to go home."
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The Memphis man was held down, punched and kicked in the face, tased, and pepper sprayed for three minutes while he screamed for his mother.
Another officer screamed "I'm going to baton the f*** out you," and raised the weapon against him during the horrific incident.
Nichols initially ran from cops when he was pulled from his car and pinned on the ground.
"Stop, I'm not doing anything," he yelled before bolting.
The officers fired tasers at him and chased him.
After the beating, the officers stood around while Nichols lay on the street, propped against the car in agony.
All five officers were fired in the wake of the incident. They were charged with second-degree murder and related offenses on Thursday, Reuters reported.
The tragedy has been likened by the heartbroken family to the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King.
I'm going to baton the f*** out you
Memphis police officer
Memphis Police Director Cerelyn Davis described the actions as "heinous, reckless, and inhumane" and said they have yet to find proof that Nichols was driving recklessly.
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President Biden addressed the video in a statement that said he was "outraged and deeply pained" after viewing the footage.
"It is yet another painful reminder of the profound fear and trauma, the pain, and the exhaustion that Black and Brown Americans experience every single day," the president wrote.
He had an emotional phone call with the family on Friday before the video was released.
Vice President Kamala Harris said: "Tyre Nichols should have made it home to his family.
"Yet, once again, America mourns the life of a son and father brutally cut short at the hands of those sworn to protect and serve."
She also called for Congress to urgently pass the impending policing act.
NATIONWIDE PROTESTS
Ahead of the video's release, police and politicians in Memphis and other major US cities braced for widespread protests.
Demonstrators took to the streets in cities like New York, Chattanooga, and Atlanta, where Georgia State Patrol vehicles were seen escorting National Guard troops.
Three people were arrested in a Times Square protest that drew a crowd of more than 1,000. One was taken in after bashing a police car's windshield in.
In Sacramento, around two dozen demonstrators gathered to march around the capitol building and call for justice.
Cops in Los Angeles were spurred into action when protestors began to knock down barriers surrounding the LAPD building.
One person spray-painted "kills" on the side of headquarters underneath the word police, shocking photos on social media reveal.
Nichols' family encouraged the protests but urged demonstrators to remain peaceful.
“If you’re here for me and Tyre, you’ll protest peacefully,” his mother RowVaughn Wells said at a vigil on Thursday night, the New York Times reported.
“We don’t tear up our cities, because we do have to live in them.”
Although all the officers are Black, many commentators have said their conduct was still likely influenced by institutional racism in the criminal justice system.
Prominent civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing Nichols' family, was disgusted by the beating.
Still, he was happy with the speed at which the officers were charged and the footage was released.
“We want to proclaim that this is the blueprint going forward for any time any officers, whether they be Black or white, will be held accountable," Crump said.
"No longer can you tell us we got to wait six months to a year.”
MURDER CHARGES
The five fired officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr, and Justin Smith — were indicted on Friday.
They were all members of the "Scorpion" unit, a group of officers focused on violent crime in Memphis. Many have called for the unit to be disbanded, a measure the police department is currently considering.
The officers have also been charged with assault, kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression.
Four of the five suspects posted bail and have since been released from custody.
Lawyers for Martin and Mills said their clients would plead not guilty while representatives for the other three have not commented.
Nichols was a FedEx employee and father who moved to Memphis from Sacramento just before the coronavirus pandemic.
Friends and family say he was a skilled photographer and avid skateboarder.
“Photography helps me look at the world in a more creative way. It expresses me in ways I cannot write down for people,” his website reads.
He was on his way home from taking photos of the sky when the cops stopped him.
He leaves behind a four-year-old son.
"It’s not even real to me right now," his heartbroken mom said.
"I don’t have any feelings right now. I know my son Tyre is not here with me anymore.
"He will never walk through that door again.”
