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Nearly three weeks after Tyre Nichols was violently arrested in Memphis, Tennessee, city officials released disturbing footage of his fatal confrontation with police.
The graphic footage of Memphis police officers beating the 29-year-old following a traffic stop was released Friday “because it was important to the community and to Tyre’s family, as they want the world to be their witness and feel their pain,” Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said in a statement.
The release of the videos sheds more light on what happened to Nichols on the night of Jan. 7, three days before he died. Though it also prompts more questions about the incident, which has sparked nationwide outrage.
Three videos from body worn cameras were shared to Vimeo by the city of Memphis on Friday with the warning: “Footage contains graphic content and language. Some may find offense. Viewer discretion is advised.” A fourth video — soundless surveillance footage from a city pole camera — was also released, amounting to about 67 minutes total.
1st video
The roughly 11-minute clip is a body camera video that shows Nichols’ initial altercation with police during a traffic stop. As he is pulled out of his car and wrestled to the ground, Nichols can be heard saying, “I didn’t do anything,” and tells officers at least twice that he is “just trying to go home.”
During the altercation an officer warns Nichols, “I’m going to beat your a–” and “I’m going to tase your a–,” as various officers hold him on the ground and yell at him. Nichols’ tone remains calm, at one point telling the cops, “You guys are really doing a lot right now.” He manages to break free from the officers as they appear to try to deploy a stun gun on him and he runs away.
The officer from whose vantage point this body camera video is taken chases him down the road and then turns back to the scene of the initial altercation. Eventually, he learns over the radio that other officers have found Nichols nearby and he says twice, “I hope they stomp his a–.”
2nd video
The roughly 31-minute clip is an overhead surveillance wide-angle shot taken from a city surveillance camera that offers a bird’s-eye view of the unsettling beating.
Several officers can be seen grouped with Nichols, standing over him as he’s on the ground. As two officers hold him down, a third kicks him. A fourth officer comes over with a baton and the officers pick Nichols up from the ground and hold him up while officers appear to strike him in the face and torso.
As Nichols falls to his knees, several officers kneel and lean over him, while another appears to stand a few feet away watching. Additional officers run into the frame. At least one officer kicks Nichols while he is on the ground. About three minutes from the first kick, they begin to step away. They eventually drag him into the street and lean him up against a car as he appears to have his hands behind his back.
