Tyre Nichols: US braces for release of police arrest video

The United States is bracing for mass protests and public outrage as police in the city of Memphis, Tennessee, are expected to release video footage of the arrest and beating of a Black motorist, the latest act of police violence to shake the country.Five Memphis police officers face charges of second-degree murder, among others, in relation to the killing of Tyre Nichols, 29, who died in hospital on January 10 after he was beaten during a traffic stop three days earlier.

The video, set to be released on Friday after 6pm local time (00:00 GMT on Saturday), was expected to include footage captured by police body-worn cameras, cameras mounted on dashboards of police vehicles, and security cameras on utility poles in the vicinity of the fatal incident.

Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said the video shows Nichols crying out for his mother.

“You’re going to see acts that defy humanity. You’re going to see the disregard for life, [for] duty of care, that we’re all sworn to, and a level of physical interaction that is above and beyond what is required in law enforcement,” Davis said during an interview with CNN.

Nichols’s death has recalled the 2020 killing of George Floyd, who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Floyd’s killing, which was captured on video, set off mass protests around the world demanding an end to police violence and anti-Black racism.

The video of the altercation that left Nichols dead also has drawn comparisons to the 1991 Rodney King beating video, which triggered days of riots in Los Angeles that left dozens dead.