The 29-year-old victim died three days after officers used force to arrest him for allegedly reckless driving in Memphis.
Five former Memphis, United States, police officers will be charged with involuntary manslaughter against a 29-year-old African-American man who died on January 10 from injuries caused by the officers. Victim Tire Nichols died three days after officers apprehended him on January 7 for allegedly recklessly riding his motorcycle.
Officers Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean used force to arrest him at a traffic stop, CNN reported. They were fired last week for brutally assaulting the young man and will now face trial for his death, aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated kidnapping and two counts of misconduct.
These five former cops, also of African American descent, joined the Memphis Police Department over the past six years. His arrest forms the basis for today’s release of surveillance and body camera footage of his interaction with Nichols, which local authorities say could lead to violence in Memphis.
Lawyers for Nichols’ family have said he was severely beaten, citing a video the family was able to view earlier this week. Nichols had “extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating,” the legal team said, citing the preliminary results of an autopsy they had performed, according to “The Washington Post.”
Likewise, the police officers who saw the videos strongly condemned the arrest. At a press conference Thursday announcing the criminal charges, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation director David B. Rausch said the officers’ actions were “absolutely egregious.”
The arrest and subsequent death of Nichols comes amid an intensified investigation into the police’s treatment of black people, particularly since the May 2020 murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis, which sparked the protest movement known as Black Lives matter.
United States President Joe Biden has stressed the importance of not ignoring the fact that deadly encounters with law enforcement affect black and Hispanic populations in different ways, and is calling on Congress to continue with the George Floyd Police Justice Act.
Along those lines, Biden has stated that Tire’s death is “a painful reminder” that more needs to be done to ensure that the U.S. criminal justice system fulfills “the promise of fair and impartial justice, with equal treatment and dignity for all.”
“As Americans cry, the Justice Department is conducting its investigation and state authorities are continuing their work. I join the Tire family in calling for peaceful protest,” he added, assuring that “the outrage is understandable , but violence is never acceptable.
Source: La Verdad
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