Tensions sky high in America after five black police officers charged over death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis – TheLiberal.ie – Our News, Your Views

Tensions sky high in America after five black police officers charged over death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis




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Five former Memphis police officers were taken into custody on second-degree murder and other charges in the death of Tire Nichols, a black man who died three days after a traffic stop, county jail records show.

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy will give a press conference later today on the case. Officials are expected to release traffic control bodycam footage tomorrow.

Mr Nichols, a 29-year-old father, died in hospital on January 10, three days after being injured when he was arrested by five police officers.

The officers are also facing two counts of official misconduct, one count of aggravated assault and two counts of aggravated kidnapping.

The Memphis Police Department identified them on Friday as Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith. Each had served in the department for two and a half to five years.

They were fired from law enforcement on Saturday for violating several department policies, including excessive use of force, inaction and failure to assist.

More Memphis officers continue to be investigated for policy violations, Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said yesterday. In a video posted on YouTube, she also asked for calm when bodycam footage is released.

“I expect you to feel what the Nichols family feels. I expect you to feel outrage in the disregard of basic human rights,” she said. “I expect our citizens to exercise their First Amendment right to protest, to demand action and results, but we need to ensure our community is safe in this process,” reports RTE.

The Nichols family viewed police footage Monday with their attorney, Ben Crump. He compared the beatings to the LAPD attack on Rodney King in 1991, which was filmed and sparked protests and police reform.

The last words heard in the video were Mr Nichols calling his mother three times, Mr Crump said.

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