Once again, a US police operation caused horror, resulting in the death of a black man. Tire Nichols, 29, was beaten by emergency services for several minutes, one of the family’s lawyers, Antonio Romanucci, told a news conference on Monday (local time).
According to police, Nichols was pulled over in early January in the US metropolis of Memphis, Tennessee, for “reckless driving”. According to the information, there were “clashes” – the man died a few days later in the hospital.
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On Monday, the victim’s family was able to watch the video of the police operation. “He was helpless. The whole time. He was a human piñata to those cops,” attorney Romanucci said later.
He called the police’s actions racist. A piñata can be a figure that children often hit with sticks until the candy falls out.
Police said in a statement the day after the check, on Jan. 8, that there was a “clash” when emergency services stopped the 29-year-old. He eventually fled on foot, which led to another “showdown”, police wrote, without giving any specific information.
The suspect ended up complaining of shortness of breath and was taken to the hospital. There he succumbed to his wounds.
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The police has already freed five police officers involved in the operation, among other things, for “excessive use of force”. Video of the incident has not yet been released, but is expected to be released in the coming weeks.
Family lawyer compares case to Rodney King
“My son was a good boy,” the 29-year-old’s mother, RowVaughn Wells, told the news conference. He was a passionate skateboarder. “He just wanted to go home. He was two minutes from home when they pulled him over,” Wells said. The police “murdered” him.
Another family lawyer, Ben Crump, compared the case to Rodney King. In Los Angeles in 1991, the black man was beaten by the police after a chase. The acquittal of the officials led to riots with dozens of deaths.
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“Unlike Rodney King, Tire did not survive,” said attorney Crump. Video of the operation from early January was “horrible” and “disgusting”. “You cannot go on killing young black men at traffic stops,” Crump said.
In the United States, there are regular deadly police operations of a similar nature. The case of George Floyd is representative of this: in May 2020, the African American died in a brutal police operation in Minneapolis. The case sparked nationwide protests against police violence and racism. Since then, there has always been consternation in similar cases. (dpa)
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