Five former police officers in the U.S. city of Memphis will be prosecuted for allegedly committing felony murder for the beating of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old African-American man who died Jan. 10 from injuries inflicted by the officers.
Tyre Nichols died three days after Memphis Police arrested him for alleged reckless driving on his motorcycle on Jan. 7. Officers stopped him at a traffic stop and used force to arrest him, CNN reported.
Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean, fired from MPD last week, will face charges of intentional manslaughter without premeditation, aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated kidnapping and two counts of misconduct.
These five former officers, also of African-American descent, joined the MPD within the last six years. Their arrest sets the stage for Friday afternoon’s release of surveillance and body camera footage of their interaction with Nichols, which local authorities say could trigger violence in Memphis.
Attorneys for Nichols’ family have recounted that he was severely beaten, citing a video the family was able to view earlier this week. Nichols had «extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating,» according to the legal team, citing preliminary results of an autopsy they commissioned, ‘The Washington Post’ has reported.
Police officials who have seen the videos have also strongly condemned the arrest. At a press conference Thursday announcing the criminal charges, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David B. Rausch, said the officers’ actions were «absolutely egregious.»
Nichols’ arrest and subsequent death come amid increased scrutiny of how police treat black people, particularly since the May 2020 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, after which the protest movement known as Black Lives Matter was born.
BIDEN CALLS ON CONGRESS TO PASS GEORGE FLOYD ACT U.S. President Joe Biden has emphasized the importance of not ignoring the fact that deadly encounters with law enforcement disparately affect Black and Hispanic populations, calling on Congress to move forward with the George Floyd Police Justice Act.
«Public trust is the foundation of public safety, and there are still too many places in America where the bonds of trust are frayed or broken,» the U.S. president said in a statement released by the White House.
In this sense, Biden said that Tyre’s death «is a painful reminder» that more must be done to ensure that the US criminal justice system fulfills «the promise of fair and impartial justice, with equal treatment and dignity for all».
For «real change» to occur, according to Biden, it is important to hold law enforcement officers accountable when they break their oath.
«That’s why I asked Congress to send me the George Floyd Police Justice Act. When they didn’t, I signed an executive order that included stricter use of force standards and accountability provisions for federal law enforcement,» the U.S. President continued.
Meanwhile, the US president urged the population to attend the protests in a peaceful manner, stressing that «violence is never acceptable».
«While Americans mourn, the Department of Justice conducts its investigation and state authorities continue their work, I join Tyre’s family in calling for peaceful protest,» he reiterated, assuring that «outrage is understandable, but violence is never acceptable».
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
