Bodycam Video Shows Police Beating Tire Nichols: Latest Updates
The Memphis Police Department said it had permanently disabled a specialized unit and protests were planned in major cities across the country a day after the city released more than an hour of video footage of the brutal beating. by police officers from Tire Nichols, 29.
Four videos taken from body cameras and a security camera showed Nichols was kicked, punched and beaten with batons at least 13 times during a traffic stop on January 7. Officers also doused Nichols with pepper spray and a stun gun as he cried out for his mother.
Nichols, a black FedEx worker and father of a 4-year-old son, died of his injuries three days later in a hospital where he had been in critical condition since the beating.
Five of the officers – who are also black – were charged Thursday with second-degree murder and other crimes in what civil rights lawyer Ben Crump called a “blueprint for the future” to hold police accountable of misconduct due to prompt action by prosecutors and the police chief.
Experts and activists have said the race of the officers involved matters less than the race of the victim when it comes to a pattern of racialized police violence against black people.
During this time, members of Memphis’ black skateboarding community and skateboarders nationwide remembered Nichols for his passion for skateboarding. A video of Nichols skating was shared by Crump on social media, and many chose to focus on that rather than the horror video of his treatment by police.
“It was just nice to see something positive instead of negative and to be able to remember it in a good light,” said Latosha Stone, widely credited as the first black woman to own a skateboard business.
SCORPION unit ‘permanently’ disabled
The Memphis Police Department announced on Saturday that it will “permanently deactivate” its SCORPION unit after officers from the unit were fired and face charges in the death of Tire Nichols.
The officers charged in Nichols’ death are members of SCORPION, or Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods, the department confirmed.
Saturday’s news followed calls from Nichols’ family to disband the unit.
“These are law enforcement units,” said Antonio Romanucci, the Nichols family’s attorney. “And what they do is they end up oppressing the people we care about the most – our children, our young sons and daughters who are black and brown – because they are the most vulnerable. “
WHAT ARE SPECIALIZED UNITS? :What we know about SCORPION, other cities’ units
-Christine Fernando, USA TODAY
Body camera footage shows ‘inhumane’ beatings
During their first encounter with Nichols, police body camera video shows several officers as they dragged him out of a car, shouting profanities and conflicting orders, at one point demanding that Nichols lie down when he was already on the ground. Throughout the first video released, Nichols appeared to remain calm, responding affirmatively to officers as they yelled at him.
As the officers push him to the ground, hands on his back, arms and shoulders, one of them says, “B—– put your hands behind your back before I break them.”
The officers repeatedly order Nichols to lie down, and he responds, “I’m down!”
Elected officials and other leaders noted the level of police aggressiveness with which police immediately encountered Nichols.
Nichols was able to flee while an officer attempted to use a Taser on him. When the officers caught up to Nichols, they delivered a series of blows to his face, head, upper body and abdomen which soon appeared to cause serious injury until Nichols was struggling on the ground and had then struggled to stand in a seated position against a squad. car, the following videos show.
It’s not until 28 minutes into the second video that a stretcher is brought to Nichols, raising questions about why it took him so long to receive medical attention.
After the beating, as Nichols sat leaning against a police car moaning in pain, police gathered nearby, calling Nichols’ names, checking each other and laughing.
Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis called the incident “heinous, reckless and inhumane.”
In its first statement since Jan. 7, the Memphis Police Association said late Friday that it had offered its “condolences” to Nichols’ family, but did not condemn the specific actions of the officers charged with his murder. The association said it has “confidence” in the criminal justice system.
“The Memphis Police Association is committed to the administration of justice and NEVER condones the mistreatment of ANY citizen or ANY abuse of power,” the statement read.
2 deputies currently under investigation; police officers charged
Two Shelby County sheriff’s deputies who appeared at the scene of Nichols’ beating are being investigated, Sheriff Floyd Bonner announced Friday.
The MPs were “relieved of their duties” pending an internal investigation into possible breaches of the policy.
“Having watched the videotape for the first time tonight, I am concerned about two deputies who appeared at the scene following the physical confrontation between police and Tire Nichols,” Bonner said in a statement late Friday.
Given the regular coordination between the Memphis Police Department and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, it was not immediately clear why the presence of the sheriff’s deputies was not made public until Friday.
The inquest comes after former officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith, Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr. were each charged with one count of second-degree murder, aggravated assault – acting in concert, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of official misconduct and one count of official oppression, according to court records.
-Laura Testino, Memphis Trade Call
Ben Crump: ‘Quick justice’ in charges. Is it unusual?
Crump noted the discrepancy in how quickly charges were brought against black officers in this case, compared to the length of time that has passed in other police killings involving white officers, such as in the 2014 murder of 17-year-old black Laquan McDonald by a white Chicago police officer.
“We’re looking at how quickly the district attorney brought charges against them in less than 20 days,” Crump said at a news conference. “We want to proclaim that this is the blueprint for the future any time officers, whether black or white, will be held accountable. You can’t tell us anymore that we have to wait six months to a year. “
Experts say it’s an unusual reaction to cases of police brutality, but note that the race of the five accused officers, who are black, may characterize the experience of black people navigating the justice system. The availability of the video and the fact that Nichols is deceased also influence the outcome.
READ MORE:Ben Crump has applauded “swift justice” in the killing of Tire Nichols. Experts say the speed was “unusual”.
-Grace Hauck, USA TODAY
Weekend protests across the country after the video was released
Protests are planned coast to coast this weekend following the release of Friday’s video. Protesters plan to gather in New York, Memphis and Baltimore, among other cities, on Saturday.
On Friday evening, protests were largely peaceful across the country. Dozens of people gathered in Times Square, Chicago and Washington, DC on Friday night after Nichols’ family called for a peaceful response to the shocking videos.
“I don’t want us burning down our city, tearing up the streets, because that’s not what my son stood for,” Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, said Thursday. “If you are here for me and Tyre then you will protest peacefully.”
REMEMBERING HIS LIFE:Black skateboarders from Memphis and beyond pay tribute to Tire Nichols
In Memphis, protesters blocked the Interstate 55 bridge that carries traffic over the Mississippi River into Arkansas, causing tractor-trailers to back up. In New York, emotions ran high and a protester was arrested after jumping on a police cruiser and smashing its windshield, ABC7 reported.
Biden and Harris call on Congress to act
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have both urged Congress to act quickly by passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
The police reform bill aims to strengthen police accountability and would end policing practices that have come under scrutiny after the deaths of black Americans.
“America once again mourns the life of a son and father brutally cut short by those sworn to protect and serve,” Harris said in a statement. “The continuing problem of police misconduct and excessive use of force in America must end now.”
-Ella Lee, USA TODAY
Contributor: The Memphis Commercial Appeal; The Associated Press
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