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Memphis authorities say they’re planning to release body camera footage from the police killing of Tyre Nichols, leaving cities across the U.S. on edge and bracing for a familiar ritual: protests, outrage and calls for national police reform.
Following Thursday’s announcement of charges against the officers, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said the city would release body camera footage Friday after 6 p.m. CT.
In an email to NPR on Friday morning, the Memphis Police Department said they were still unsure of the exact timing of the release but it could come “sometime after 5:00 p.m. CT.”
The video will be uploaded to YouTube in four different parts. Neighborhood surveillance video will appear alongside the body camera footage, all depicting a three-minute span of events leading to Nichols’ death.
Nichols, a 29-year-old father and FedEx worker, was pulled over on Jan. 7 for what police said was reckless driving. After trying to flee on foot, Nichols was severely beaten by police. He died in a hospital three days later.
All five of the officers have since been fired, and are facing charges of second-degree murder, assault and kidnapping. State and federal authorities are also investigating the officers.
Lawyers and Nichols’ family, who have privately viewed the video of Nichols’ arrest, called it “appalling,” “heinous,” and “horrific.”
It shows Nichols being savagely beaten, kicked, pepper-sprayed and struck with a stun gun, according to one of the Nichols’ family lawyers.
“He was a human piñata,” said lawyer Antonio Romanucci. “It was an unadulterated, unabashed, non-stop beating of this young boy for three minutes.”Nichols’ family lawyers call for an investigation into ‘saturation patrols’
Activists are already calling for reform in Memphis and across the nation, with many asking for a completely overhauled approach to policing.
