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On January 10, 2023, Tyre Nichols, 29, died due to injuries that were reportedly sustained after an assault by five Memphis cops during a routine traffic stop.
BBC reported that the five officers linked to the attack have been indicted on charges of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, official misconduct, and official oppression.
The incident has outraged civil rights activists, who have claimed that African-American men are more likely to become victims of police brutality. All the officers involved in the incident were also African-American.
In an interview with Time, Civil Rights attorney Antonio Romanucci condemned the incident.
Romanucci said:
“It was so violently intentional. There really was no purpose or basis to be that violent or brutal against a defenseless human being. I mean, this is a citizen. These Memphis police officers are charged with protecting their citizens and instead they literally unabashedly beat him for over three minutes."
CBS reported that two firefighters who were present during the incident have also been placed on leave.
Officials condemn the officers involved in the death of Tyre Nichols
Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney, told Associated Press reporters that Tyre Nichols' death resembled the assault on Rodney King in 1992. King was an African-American man whose assault at the hands of police officers sparked violent riots across Los Angeles.
Crump said:
“When people see this video it’s going to remind them of Rodney King; tragically, the only difference in many regards is that Tyre didn’t survive."
Crump claimed that while Tyre Nichols had been stopped by Memphis authorities for alleged 'reckless driving', the officers willingly escalated the situation.
Crump said:
“What is so alarming about the video is the escalation from the moment they encountered Tyre—and that escalation only increases. The first words that you hear Tyre utter is, ‘what did I do?’ And there’s never an answer for that.”
Romanucci echoed this sentiment to reporters.
He said:
"He was a human piñata. It was an unadulterated, unabashed, non-stop beating of this young boy for three minutes."
In an official statement, Memphis City police Chief Cerelyn Davis acknowledged the death of Tyre Nichols.
Davis said:
“Transparency remains a priority in this incident, and a premature release could adversely impact the criminal investigation and the judicial process. We are working with the District Attorney’s Office to determine the appropriate time to release video records publicly."
US Civil Rights Leader Al Sharpton commented on the fact that the officers involved in the incident were African-American.
Sharpton said:
"We fought to put blacks on the police force. For them to act in such a brutal way is more egregious than I can tell you."
CNN reported that the video of the assault is scheduled to be released on Friday, January 27.
