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 right to peaceful demonstration
(Clips from the footage of Nichols' arrest can be seen in the video above, 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.)
Law enforcement and public officials, including those with the Memphis police department, who have seen the Tyre Nichols video have expressed appall across the board, a unified condemnation seemingly rife with what appears to be, at times, disbelief at the depravity of what they witnessed.
A day before the planned video drop, federal prosecutors charged all five now former Memphis police officers involved in Nichols' case with murder and other crimes, perhaps another tacit acknowledgment of their concern the contents may incite extreme public reaction. All five of those officers, fired following an internal investigation this month, are Black as well.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams says that's proven especially difficult for him to absorb personally and professionally.
"I advocated for years, during my time in 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement and as a civil rights activist ... To see what is reported, that five Black officers are involved in this, really hurt me personally," Adams said when asked about Nichols at an unrelated subway safety briefing Friday. "It was always my belief that diversifying our departments with different ethnic groups would allow us to have the level of policing that we all deserve."
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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.
“Any officer who engages in violence and brutality tarnishes all the work we have done to keep communities safe,” he said. 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.”
The mayor said the video would “trigger pain and sadness in many of us. It will make us angry.”
After the video was released, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said that the department "and the communities we serve are collectively outraged at the death of Tyre Nichols," and went on to criticize the actions of the officers seen in the video.
"The disgraceful actions depicted in the released video are an unequivocal violation of our oath to protect those we serve, and a failure of basic human decency," Sewell said in a statement, while reiterating the department's support of "peaceful demonstration."
Rev. Al Sharpton said that the video "should be all a jury needs to convict each of the five officers who relentlessly beat Tyre Nichols to death. Justice needs to be delivered for Tyre and his family. I don’t think anyone who could stomach getting through this footage would disagree."
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand called Nichols' death "outrageous and horrifying," expressing her gratitude that the officers had already been charged with murder. Fellow Sen. Chuck Schumer said on Twitter that "repetitiveness of unjust murders is a stain on America," and that the officers involved "betrayed their oath."
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul shared similar sentiments, saying that police "is deeply in need of repair."
Tyre Nichols Dies Days After Memphis Police Beating
Nichols, a 29-year-old father to a 4-year-old boy, died at a hospital three days after the Jan. 7 confrontation with police during a traffic stop in Memphis, Tennessee's second-biggest city behind Nashville. The FedEx worker was pulled over for reckless driving minutes from his home, on his way back from taking sunset photos at a suburban park, that night.
In a preliminary statement a day later, police said "a confrontation occurred" as cops approached the car and Nichols ran. "Another confrontation occurred" when they caught up.
Body cameras captured an as-yet publicly unknown series of events around the beating. Nichols' family saw it Monday.
One of their attorneys, noted civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, said cops beat him like a "human piñata" for three minutes. Crump likened Nichols' arrest to the notorious 1991 beating of Rodney King at the hands of the Los Angeles Police Department, describing the encounter as "violent" and "troublesome on every level."
Another family lawyer described the footage as "savage" and well outside the realm of what the offense warranted. Some of those who have seen the video have said it shows a shocking level of police brutality — but Nichols' mother said she hasn't watched any of the footage yet.
"I’ve never seen the video, but from what I’ve heard it is very horrific. Very horrific," said his mother, RowVaughn Wells.
Nichols, who was shocked, pepper sprayed and restrained, the video shows, and heard crying out for his mother, was taken to a hospital after complaining of shortness of breath. Relatives accused the cops of delivering such a brutal beating that it caused Nichols to have a heart attack and his kidneys to fail.
Prior to Thursday, authorities had only said that Nichols experienced a medical emergency. The U.S. Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into the case. Autopsy results have not been released.
Nichols' family had wanted the five officers charged with first-degree murder -- and Crump said the fact that they were the same race is irrelevant. He said it underscores overarching and longstanding racial inequities around traffic stops.
Despite their heartbreak and outrage, the family of Tyre Nichols lowered the temperature a bit on Friday, praising Tennessee law enforcement for taking swift action to fire the officers and to secure a grand jury murder charge for each of them. Nichols’ mother and stepfather urged Americans to remain peaceful – even if the Memphis traffic stop recordings are as awful as forecast.
"We do not want any type of uproar. We do not want any type of disturbance. We want peaceful protest," said Rodney Wells, Nichols' stepfather, as he was flanked by civil rights leaders.
They said consequences for cops accused of brutality have traditionally taken months — but in this case, the five officers accused of beating Nichols were fired and charged with murder in just three weeks. Crump said that should be "the blueprint going forward."
"No longer can you tell us we got to wait six months to a year, even though we got a video of the with evidence of the excessive force," the lawyer said.
Adams echoed what Nichols' mother and stepfather said.
"My message to New Yorkers is to respect the wishes of Mr. Nichols' mother. If you need to express your anger and outrage, do so peacefully," he said.
The city of Memphis has been on edge about the release of the police footage because of the possibility of unrest, and officials at all levels of government have forcefully denounced the allegations -- and vowed changes -- in recent days.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said the recordings will be roughly an hour long, and called video of the incident "horrific, alarming, disappointing, sad." Davis went on to describe the special "street crimes" unit involved in the traffic stop as "off the rails."
Memphis' Mayor Jim Strickland issued a contrite statement Thursday night, saying, "It is clear that these officers violated the department’s policies and training. But we are doing everything we can to prevent this from happening again. We are initiating an outside, independent review of the training, policies, and operations of our specialized units."
"Lastly, I am sad and angry for the family of Tyre Nichols. I am also angry for the many good men and women of the Memphis Police Department who devote their lives to serving our citizens," he said. "We must all work to regain the public’s trust and work together to heal the wounds these events have caused."
Lawyers for two of the accused former police officers urged the public to reserve judgement on their clients until they get their day in court.
Law enforcement departments are preparing for potential protests across the country. Police in Philadelphia, Atlanta and Washington, D.C., have issued similar advisories to the one from the NYPD Friday.
The NYPD has said, as it does in all cases involving potential demonstrations, that it will support the right to peaceful protest. Given the disturbing nature of the footage, though, and it is urging officers to use enhanced caution.
Violent protests erupted across the five boroughs in late spring 2020 following the death of George Floyd in police custody. More than 160 buildings were set ablaze. Police vehicles were torched. Molotov cocktails were thrown and stores looted. Misconduct allegations abounded during the days-long protests, which were exacerbated in part by out-of-state demonstrators bent on stoking further chaos and national division in the lead-up to the presidential election.
Dozens of people were arrested and more than 100 NYPD cops were ultimately cited for misconduct.
