A new case of police violence shakes the United States, almost three years after the death of George Floyd, which had marked public opinion. Five police officers were charged and jailed Thursday for murder following the early January death of Tire Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee.
He died three days after his arrest by police, described as “appalling” by the director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
• Who was Tire Nichols?
Tire Nichols was 29 years old. She lived in Memphis, Tennessee, and worked for the transportation company FedEx.
“I know everyone says they had a good son, and everyone’s son is good, but my son was a really good boy,” Tire Nichols’ mother said during a press conference interview, CNN reports Friday.
On Thursday, referring to his encounters with those close to Tire Nichols, prosecutor Steve Mulroy painted a portrait of a “nearly perfect son.” “A jovial, happy person who loved skateboarding,” he said.
• What are the circumstances of your arrest?
On January 7, the police wanted to arrest Tire Nichols for a traffic violation. When officers approached, “a confrontation had occurred” and “the suspect had fled,” police explained.
Trapped, Tire Nichols was eventually arrested, but complained of having difficulty breathing and was hospitalized. He died three days later.
The details of this arrest are still unclear: there is a video of the events, but so far it has only been shown to the victim’s relatives and their lawyers. According to them, “the policemen beat him beyond recognition.”
“It is a pure and simple beating, without interruption, of this young man for three minutes,” Me Antonio Romanucci declared.
In a press release, the lawyers revealed the results of an independent autopsy commissioned by the family on Tuesday. “Preliminary results indicate that Tiro suffered significant bleeding from a severe beating,” they say.
During the press conference this Thursday, the authorities avoided specifying the course of events, referring to the images that will be released this Friday at 6:00 p.m. (local time).
But what happened was “inadmissible” and “criminal” and “shouldn’t have happened,” criticized David Rausch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, saying he was “shocked” and “disgusted” by what he saw.
“In a word, it’s absolutely appalling,” he said.
• Where is the research?
On January 20, Memphis police announced the firing of five officers involved in the arrest of Tire Nichols. The internal administrative investigation revealed that these police officers had “violated multiple department rules, including excessive use of force, the duty to intervene and the duty to provide assistance,” a press release explained.
The officers involved are “directly responsible for the physical violence committed against Mr. Nichols,” Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said Thursday, saying in a video that “it was not just a professional error, but a lack of humanity”.
“This act was heinous, irresponsible and inhumane.”
Other Memphis police officers are still under investigation, he also said.
The five fired officers were charged and jailed Thursday, prosecutor Steve Mulroy said at a news conference. These Memphis police officers, all African-American, are the subject of various charges, including murder, assault and battery or kidnapping.
• What is Joe Biden’s reaction?
The authorities expect large protests after the publication of the video. US President Joe Biden called for calm in a statement on Thursday.
“While Americans mourn, the Department of Justice investigates, and authorities continue their work, I join the Tire family in calling for a peaceful protest. Anger is understandable, but violence is never acceptable,” Joe Biden said in a statement, in which he also called for a “prompt, full and transparent investigation” into this tragedy.
“Tyre’s death is a painful reminder that we must do more to ensure that our justice system delivers on the promise of fair and impartial justice,” Biden said in his statement.
The Democratic president urged Congress to pass a police reform bill, which passed the House of Representatives in 2021 but failed to clear the Senate hurdle. Since the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020, the United States Congress has been unable to pass any ambitious police reform in the United States, including a ban on chokeholds.
Source: BFM TV
