What to Know
- Tyre Nichols, 29, was stopped in Memphis for alleged reckless driving on Jan. 7; police initially said a confrontation ensued, he ran and another confrontation happened; he ended up in the hospital and died three days later. Condemnation from those who saw the body cam footage has been universal
- Nichols' family accused police of beating him so badly he suffered a heart attack and kidney failure; all five fired Memphis officers, all of them also Black, involved in the case are charged with murder
- Body camera footage of the beating was released Friday, leading police departments across the country to encourage officers to use caution and protect rights to peaceful demonstration
No arrests had been reported in connection with New York City protests over Tyre Nichols' deadly Memphis beating as of early Sunday, marking another night of what by accounts thus far suggest to be a peaceful series of demonstrations by a nation still trying to come to process the events they watched unfold on police bodycam footage.
Protesters again flooded the streets of Manhattan and hundreds rallied at Washington Square Park, though amid the chants and seas of cardboard signs appeared no indication of chaos. Images reflected an even more organized protest scene Saturday night than the night prior, when one person jumped on top of an NYPD car in Times Square.
That vehicle vandalism resulted in three arrests and those were the only ones in the city reported that first night, based on the latest available NYPD data. The response coincided almost immediately with the Memphis police video release, as protesters swarmed Union Square and the Crossroads of the World in unified angst.
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The condemnation has been near-universal, across every facet of the American repertoire and conflict of interest.
Mayor Eric Adams, who during his years as an NYPD officer co-founded an organization that advocated for diversity in policing and against abuses of power, said he “felt betrayed” by the officers charged in the Memphis death of Nichols.
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“Any officer who engages in violence and brutality tarnishes all the work we have done to keep communities safe,” he added." They make it harder for the brothers and sisters in uniform to accomplish the incredible work they do, day in and day out."
All five police officers have been charged with second-degree murder and other crimes in Nichols' death. Those charges were announced a day before the release of the bodycam footage.
(Clips from the footage of Nichols' arrest can be seen in the video below, which has been edited for time and profanities. Click here to see the full video released by police — Warning: It shows graphic violence that could be disturbing.)
