In response to the Memphis Police Department’s release of footage of Tyre Nichols’ beating on Friday, activists mobilized marches across the country to protest his death.
In response to the Memphis Police Department’s release of footage of Tyre Nichols’ beating on Friday, activists mobilized marches across the country to protest his death.
Protests, largely peaceful, erupted across the United States in response to the death of Tyre Nichols, whose brutal beating at the hands of five cops was captured on Memphis police body camera footage that was released to the public Friday.
Nichols was pulled over by the police as he was returning home from snapping photographs of the sunset, an activity he deeply enjoyed, according to his mother, RowVaughn Wells. Serene images of his surroundings, including bridges, neon signs and landscapes, are plentiful on his own website.
“Photography helps me look at the world in a more creative way,” Nichols wrote on his website. “It expresses me in ways I cannot write down for people. I take different types of photography, anywhere from action sports to rural photos, to bodies of water and my favorite.. landscape photography. My vision is to bring my viewers deep into what I am seeing through my eye and out through my lens. People have a story to tell why not capture it instead of doing the "norm" and writing it down or speaking it. I hope to one day let people see what i see and to hopefully admire my work based on the quality and ideals of my work.”
Nichols was 100 yards away from the home he shared with his mother and stepfather when on Jan. 7, he was pulled over by police claiming he was recklessly driving.
Bodycam video and surveillance footage, both of which are difficult to watch, show the officers beating Nichols with their fists and batons while kicking and pepper spraying him as he screams and grovels for his mother. The events caught on camera last for more than an hour.
The 29-year-old, who was a father and FedEx worker, died of his injuries three days later at a local hospital.
Authorities say they have found no evidence of Nichols driving recklessly.
Memphis officials released the footage they called appalling on Friday, waiting until schools and businesses were closed. Memphis City Councilwoman Michalyn Easter-Thomas told CNN that before the video’s release, there was a fear of violent protests because of a lack of police accountability in previous incidents.
Late Friday, Memphis officials said demonstrations were peaceful and there were no arrests, as activists shut down I-55 dear downtown.
Former Memphis Police officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith were all indicted on second-degree murder charges Friday. Jail records show that they all posted bail and have since been released from the Shelby County Jail. The officers, all of whom are Black, were fired last week.
Lawyers for Martin III and Mills Jr. told Inside Edition Digital that their clients intend to enter not guilty pleas. The other three officers could not be reached for comment, and it is not known if they have retained counsel at this time.
Two deputies with the Shelby County Sheriff's Department were also reportedly terminated. Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner said both deputies were present on the scene, but Bonner offered no further details apart from saying an internal investigation was underway.
In response to the video’s release, people shut down New York City’s Grand Central Station and marched through Times Square. Footage on social media shows an NYPD cruiser’s windshield being smashed. According to CNN, three of those protesters allegedly involved in that incident were arrested.
Tennessee officials told CNN local protests were peaceful. Demonstrations also sprouted up in Portland, Oregon, Washington D.C., Seattle, Washington and Sacramento, California.
Several demonstrations are planned for later Saturday, including in Athens, Georgia; Columbus, Ohio; Boston, Massachusetts and Baltimore, Maryland.
On Saturday, the Memphis Police Department announced its deactivated the SCORPION Unit, which the officers who were charged with Nichols’ death were a part of. SCORPION was an acronym for “Street Crimes Operations to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods.” In a press release, the department said all officers who were assigned to the unit agreed to have it disbanded. The move came at the request of the Nichols family.
In Sacramento, where Nichols grew up skateboarding and lived before the pandemic brought him to Memphis, his brother, Jamal Dupree spoke to FOX40. He said what he hopes happens to the cops who took his brother’s life.
“You want my truth?… I hope they die,” he said.
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