Video shows police kicking, pepper spraying, beating Tyre Nichols after traffic stop
By: Officers tased, pepper sprayed and brutally beat 29-year-old Tyre Nichols during a Jan. 7 traffic stop, according to video footage released by the city of Memphis Friday.
The footage, which comes from a SkyCop camera and officers' body cameras, is split into four videos.
Police can be heard yelling at Nichols to get out of his car and forcibly removing him from the car.
The video has been described by law enforcement and attorneys for Nichols' family as "absolutely appalling," "alarming," and "unconscionable."
The videos show officers kicking Nichols at least twice in the face, striking him at least three or four times with a baton in the upper body area, punching him at least four times to the face, punching him at least two more times to the upper body area and kicking him at least twice in the abdomen.
The first video is from an officer’s body camera and lasts about 11 minutes. It shows officers pulling Nichols out of a car at Raines and Ross roads as he yells, “I didn’t do anything.”
“Get on the fuckin’ ground,” an officer yells. “I’m gonna tase your ass.”
“I’m on the ground, I’m on the ground,” Nichols yells.
An officer can also be heard saying the words “break your shit.”
“You guys are really doing a lot now,” Nichols says. “I’m just trying to go home.”
The camera shakes, Nichols runs, and an officer shoots at him with a taser.
The video shows that several officers were hit by pepper spray deployed by other officers.
“I hope they stomp his ass,” an officer at the first scene says.
The second video, about 30 minutes long, is silent, taken from a SkyCop camera at Castlegate and Bear Creek Lane. The camera swivels to show two officers violently pushing Nichols to the ground on his face as he tries to turn over. Then, a third officer appears to kick Nichols multiple times in the face.
A fourth officer looks on, before walking over to strike at Nichols with a baton.
Nichols manages to get back on his feet before officers appear to punch him in the face multiple times. Then, three officers force him back onto the ground.
More officers come into the frame, with one officer attempting to hold down Nichols’ feet. One officer seems to kick him again.
Then, the officers back away as Nichols lays nearly prone on the ground, moving his legs but unable to get up.
Officers proceed to drag Nichols across the concrete to lean him against a police car. At this point, at least six officers are present.
The minutes stretch on as Nichols lies against the car, with more officers clustering around. At one point, Nichols appears to slump off of the car and lie fully on the ground. He rocks back and forth on the cement, with officers offering no aid.
It is not until 28 minutes into the second video that a stretcher is brought for Nichols.
The third video, from a body camera, shows an officer running onto the scene at Castlegate and Bear Creek Lane, then spraying Nichols as he screams on the ground for his mother.
The officer, who appears to have been affected by his own pepper spray, says, “I’m gonna baton the fuck out of you. Give us your hands.”
Other officers can be seen throwing punches.
The fourth video, body camera, shows a different officer running toward the second scene. That officer’s hands can be seen pushing Nichols onto the ground. The camera goes dark as Nichols screams, “Mom,” and officers continue to demand that he present his hands.
The camera feed is dark for several minutes as the sound of a struggle ensues, Nichols calling again for his mother. There is the sound of a man moaning and trying to cry out.
“Breathe, bro,” someone says.
A few minutes later, the body camera still blocked, an officer says, “That mother-fucker on something. He cutting through traffic and everything.”
When the camera is unblocked, it shows Nichols leaning against the police car.
Shortly after the ten-minute mark, EMTs arrive and appear to start rendering aid.
In the meantime, officers recap events, saying Nichols was swerving through traffic and didn’t initially stop his car. They pulled him out of the car at a red light, one of the officers said.
They discuss the beating: “Bean was rocking, then I jump in started rocking," an officer says.
The videos contain redactions, such as license plates and what appears to be a cell phone.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said the video is "just beyond anything I've ever seen."
"You're going to see a disregard for life, duty of care that we're all sworn to and a level of physical interaction that is above and beyond what is required for law enforcement," Police Chief C.J. Davis said. "I'm sure as I said before that individuals watching will feel what the family felt. If you don't, then you're not a human being. And we all are human beings."
Nichols died Jan. 10, three days after a traffic stop near his mother's home and after what Memphis Police called a "confrontation."