Protests take to US streets after video shows cops brutally

Protests take to US streets after video shows cops brutally beating the people the earth

Tire Nichols, a 29yearold black driver, died in hospital after the assault; five police officers, all black, are charged with murder

Protests take to US streets after video shows police officers brutally beating a man

Protests take to US streets after video shows police officers brutally beating a man

Photo: Portal/Nathan Howard

Four videos of an identified man being brutally beaten by police officers Tire Nichols in Memphis, released by the authorities this Friday, the 27th, sparked a series of protests in the main cities of the United States US. The revelation comes a day after officers, all black, were accused of murdering Nichols, a 29yearold black driver.

In the footage, officers brutally beat Nichols with punches, kicks and batons for three minutes while shouting obscenities at him. The driver died in a city hospital on the 10th of this month, three days after he was beaten and arrested on suspicion of reckless driving.

After the disclosure, the President of the United States said, Joe Biden, declared himself “outraged and deeply hurt” as people from dozens of American cities began to organize protests. The Nichols family’s legal team likened the attack to the infamous police beating of the driver in 1991. Rodney King from Los Angelesand called for the protests to be held peacefully.

Video footage from cameras attached to officers’ uniforms shows officers stopping the driver and attempting to taser him, then chasing him as he ran. After the beatings began, the footage shows Nichols crying and yelling for his mother while he is being beaten. “I didn’t do anything,” the man repeated during the attacks. “I’m just trying to get home,” he says in another clip of the hourlong video.

The five officers involved in the attack Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith were released from the force and taken into custody. They all face charges of seconddegree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, administrative misconduct and administrative repression. Four of the five officers had posted bail and were released from custody Friday morning, according to court and arrest records.

Family lawyers and the young man’s parents applauded the “swiftness” of action taken against the agents involved in the murder. Rev. Al Sharpton, an African American prominent in the US civil rights campaigner, said he has spoken with the Nichols family and plans to travel to Memphis in the next few days. “The fact that these officers are black makes this even more shocking to us,” he said in a statement.

Nichols’ death commemorates the beating of his compatriot George Floyd, who was killed by a police officer in May 2020 in an incident the filming of which rocked the United States. Marches against racism and police violence set the country on fire under the motto “Black Lives Matter”.

After the video was released, demonstrations were planned in the cities of Memphis, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Portland, Oregon and Washington. New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a former police officer, said he and other mayors across the country were briefed by the White House on the contents of the video before it was released. “This will make us angry,” he said.

The video was published by American press sites and shared on social networks.

This Tire Nichols video should really disgust every American. The vast majority of the police are good people, but police brutality is a massive problem in this nation. Violence won’t fix this, but we need justice for Tire from the Memphis Police Department.

pic.twitter.com/I2hYuTcMXj

Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) January 28, 2023

In Memphis, protesters chanted, “Say his name! Tire Nichols!” and several dozen protesters blocked a busy bridge on Interstate 55, which is one of the two main links between Arkansas and Tennessee across the Mississippi River.

“He had bruises all over,” Mom says

In an interview with CNN, Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, said she found her son dead in the hospital. “He had bruises all over. His head was swollen like a watermelon,” he said.

One of the Nichols family’s attorneys, Ben Crump, provided details of the video Friday before it was released. Nichols” calls his mother three times. His last words are: “Mother! Mummy! Mom!’” she said next to Wells, who bowed his head excitedly.

Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said footage from the 29yearold’s arrest was “the same or even worse” than the 1991 beating of Rodney King that sparked days of protests in Los Angeles that left dozens dead.

Biden spoke to Wells and Nichols’ stepfather to express his condolences, the White House said. The White House also said senior officials have instructed mayors of more than a dozen cities, including Atlanta, Chicago and Philadelphia, if they needed federal support for the protests.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said he was “appalled” and US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a federal investigation had been launched. /AFP, NYT, AP

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