The 29-year-old victim died three days after officers used force to arrest him for alleged reckless driving in Memphis.
Five former police officers from Memphis, United States, will face involuntary manslaughter charges against a 29-year-old African-American man who died on January 10 from injuries caused by the agents. Victim Tire Nichols died three days after officers pulled him over for allegedly reckless driving on his motorcycle on January 7.
Officers Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean used force to arrest him at a traffic stop, CNN reported. Last week they were fired for the brutal beating they gave the young man and will now be prosecuted for his death, aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated kidnapping and two counts of misconduct.
These five ex-agents, also of African-American origin, joined the Memphis Police in the last six years. His arrest sets the stage for the release today of surveillance and body camera footage of his interaction with Nichols, which local authorities say could spark violence in Memphis.
Lawyers for Nichols’s family have recounted that he was severely beaten, citing a video the family was able to view earlier this week. Nichols had “extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating,” according to the legal team, citing the preliminary results of an autopsy they commissioned, according to ‘The Washington Post’.
Likewise, the police officers who have seen the videos have strongly condemned the arrest. At a news conference Thursday announcing the criminal charges, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David B. Rausch said the officers’ actions were “absolutely egregious.”
Nichols’ arrest and subsequent death come amid heightened scrutiny over how police treat Black people, particularly since the May 2020 killing by police officers of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which gave rise to the protest movement known as Black Lives Matter.
George Floyd Act
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, has stressed the importance of not ignoring the fact that deadly encounters with law enforcement disparately affect the black and Hispanic population, calling on Congress to move forward with the George Floyd Police Justice Act.
In this sense, Biden has stated that Tire’s death “is a painful reminder” that more must be done to ensure that the American criminal justice system fulfills “the promise of fair and impartial justice, with equal treatment and dignity for everyone”.
“While Americans cry, the Department of Justice carries out its investigation and state authorities continue their work, I join the Tire family in calling for peaceful protest,” he added, assuring that “the outrage is understandable, but violence is never acceptable.
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