The Tyre Nichols case has taken a surprising turn as the Police officials have announced that they will be releasing the bodycam footage captured at the time of Tyre’s arrest. This footage carries utmost importance in the case as Tyre was killed due to the brutality he faced at the time of the arrest. The five officers who were responsible for Tyre’s death have been fired by the Police officials and are currently being charged with murder. David Rausch, the Director of the Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee, said that he felt sickened by what he saw in bodycam footage while reviewing the footage. He also called the actions of these officers extremely appealing. The Nicole family said that the footage will show Tyre getting beaten by the officers brutally. But due to the heat of the situation, Memphis city is on the verge of protests in support of Tyre Nichols. Because of this, the Memphis police have increased patrolling across the city to maintain the peace in the city. President Biden gave a statement on Thursday where he urged the people of Memphis to keep their protests peaceful.
Tyre Nichols, who was 29 years old, was stopped by the five police officers in question for reckless driving. Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III, and Justin Smith are the names of these five officers who joined the Memphis Police Department during the last six years. During this confrontation, Tyre was brutally treated by these officers. They used pepper spray and tasers on him after restraining him. He was also severely kicked by the officers which led to his death. Based on the bodycam footage, all five officers have been charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression. All the officers were jailed on Thursday until further legal process. Because of the sheer brutality that Tyre faced at the hands of these officers, it is obvious that the bodycam footage is going to cause outrage amongst the people of Memphis. Because of this, President Biden personally made a statement to urge people to maintain peace after the footage is being made public. The City's Police chief also asked the people to keep their calm during the situation. But due to the possibility of violent protests, the city police have increased patrolling in the city. Cerelyn Davis, the Police Chief of the Memphis Police Department. Davis said that the incident marks the failure of humanity towards another individual.
The family of Tyre Nichols and their legal team have watched the bodycam footage. Antonio Romanucci, a member of the legal team serving the Nichols family, said that the police treated him like a human pinata where he suffered an uncontrolled beating at the hands of police for a whole three minutes. On the other hand, the lawyers from the fired officers said that the death was unintentional since no one out of them wanted Tyre Nichols to suffer from death. According to them, Tyre tried to flee on foot during the first confrontation with the officers. Because of this, the officers decided to arrest Tyre in their second confrontation. During the process, Tyre complained that he was having difficulty breathing after which the officers took him to the hospital where he took his last breath. Despite this, the official reason for Tyre’s death is still not disclosed which has made it harder for people to understand the actual situation which led to Tyre’s death.
