Video of the Tire Nichols traffic stop will be released on Friday

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The City of Memphis will release video of the police stop that resulted in the death of Tire Nichols, 29, after 6 p.m. CT Friday.

The announcement was made Thursday by Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy and later confirmed by Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland. Officials said they wanted to give Nichols’ family the opportunity to see the video in public.

“The actions of these officers were horrific, and no one, including law enforcement, is above the law,” Strickland said in a video statement. “We are launching an external and independent review of the training, policies and operations of our specialist units.”

Earlier Thursday, a grand jury returned indictments against five former Memphis police officers following Nichols’ death earlier this month.

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith were incarcerated in the Shelby County jail for second degree murder, aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of misconduct official and oppression.

Tire Nichols’ family had called for first-degree murder, but Mulroy explained that first-degree murder generally falls into one of two categories: premeditated and intentional murder and criminal murder.

Mulroy said second degree murder is generally unplanned and intentional murder or death caused by a reckless disregard for human life.

Mulroy said he met with the family about these charges and that everything went well. Their attorney, Ben Crump, released a statement, saying the charges gave them hope.

We asked if others, like the two Memphis firefighters who were furloughed following their actions, could be charged.

“Nothing we do today, or have done today, prevents the addition of new charges regarding any of the individuals you mentioned. We are still actively reviewing everything,” he said. declared.

Mulroy said he hoped the incident would lead to a conversation about the need for police reform.

“The world is watching us and we have to show the world what lessons we can learn from this tragedy,” he said. “I hope we can show them who I know us: a community working for positive change here in Memphis and Shelby County.”

Video of the traffic stop initiated by Memphis police against Nichols that led to his death on Jan. 7 has so far only been released to officials, attorneys and his family members. Lawyers for the Nichols family said the video showed three minutes of “savage” treatment against Nichols.

David Rausch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, described it as “absolutely appalling”.

“Let me be clear: what happened here does not reflect proper policing at all. It was wrong, and it was criminal,” Rausch said.

Police arrested Nichols near his home in the Hickory Hill neighborhood around 8:22 p.m. on January 7. There was an altercation between Nichols and several officers and pepper spray was deployed, Mulroy said.

Nichols fled on foot before a second confrontation with police. He suffered “serious injuries” there, Mulroy said, and was later taken by ambulance.

Mulroy said there was a “lapse of time” before an ambulance was called.

He confirmed that the officers involved were part of the Memphis Police Department’s SCORPION unit.

Watch Friday

► Mayor Jim Strickland and Police Chief CJ Davis will be guests on WREG’s “Live At 9” at 9 a.m. (CT) on News Channel 3 for their first local interview following the indictment of five Memphis officers.

A company spokesperson-verified GoFundMe page has been set up to help support Tire Nichols’ family. If you would like to donate, click here.