The city of Memphis has released police body camera and surveillance video showing the January 7 traffic stop and violent police confrontation that led to the death of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols.
The video clips released by the city include three police body cams and an overhead angle from a pole-based police camera, city officials have said.
Five former Memphis police officers who were fired for their actions during the arrest were indicted Thursday on charges including murder and kidnapping, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy announced.
The former officers, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith, Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills Jr., have each been charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, two charges of aggravated kidnapping, two charges of official misconduct and one charge of official oppression, Mulroy said.
Second-degree murder is defined in Tennessee as a “knowing killing of another” and is considered a Class A felony punishable by between 15 to 60 years in prison.
Two Memphis Fire Department employees who were part of Nichols’ initial care have been relieved of duty, pending the outcome of an internal investigation.
Shelby County Sherfif Floyd Bonner, Jr. tweeted a statement from the sheriff’s office’s official account, saying that after viewing the video for the first time Friday, he has “concerns about two deputies who appeared on the scene following the physical confrontation between police and Trye Nichols.” Bonner said he has launched and internal investigation into the two deputies’ conduct, and said they have been relieved of duty pending the outcome of the investigation.
The criminal charges come about three weeks after Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was hospitalized after a traffic stop and “confrontation” with Memphis police that family attorneys have called a savage beating. Nichols died from his injuries on January 10, three days after the arrest, authorities said.
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