Influential civil rights activists criticized the notion that the deadly beating of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee, had any racial aspect simply because the officers were black.
Al Sharpton, an influential civil rights activist, has stated that a “new clock” has been set for police accountability in the United States following the prompt arrest and dismissal of five policemen charged in the killing of Tyre Nichols.
Reverend Sharpton, speaking at a demonstration in Harlem, New York, also rejected the notion that there was no racial element to the fatal beating of Mr. Nichols by the officers simply because they are black.
Memphis Police released bodycam footage of cops punching the 29-year-old for three minutes while chanting obscenities.
The police released a one-hour loop of four films, including police bodycam and CCTV footage.
Mr. Nichols can be heard repeatedly yelling “Mom, Mom” as the violence proceeds.
According to his mother, he was 73 feet (80 yards) from the family residence.
In connection with Mr. Nichols’ death, five cops have been charged with second-degree murder and other offenses, including assault, kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression.
One camera in the attack tape captures the original police stop at a Memphis, Tennessee crossroads.
One cop can be heard stating, “I’ll beat the s*** out of you with a baton.” His body camera captures him raising his baton while at least one other cop restrains Mr. Nichols.
The FedEx employee can be heard saying “I didn’t do anything” as a bunch of officers proceed to wrestle him to the ground after the first officer forcibly removes him from his car around 8:20 p.m. on 7 January of this year.
One officer exclaims, “Get on the ground!” while another can be heard saying, “Tase him!” Tase him!”
After being wrestled to the ground, the father of one replied with composure, “Okay, I’m on the ground.”
As the officers continue to shout, Mr. Nichols exclaims, “Man, I’m on the ground!”
A police officer exclaims, “Place your hands behind your back or I’ll (expletive) you!”
Moments afterward, a police officer yells, “Place your hands behind your back or I’ll break them!”
Mr. Nichols shouts to the officers, “You guys are doing a lot of work right now.” “I’m merely attempting to go home.”
Moments later, he screams, “Stop, I’m not doing anything!”
Mr. Nichols may be seen running as an officer shoots him with a Taser while the camera is briefly hidden. The officers then begin to pursue Mr. Nichols.
He is then struck with punches, kicks, and a baton. After the pounding, the officer’s mill about for many minutes while Mr. Nichols lies propped up against the car, then falls to the ground in the street.
Emergency personnel with what appears to be medical equipment arrive, but do not intervene immediately.
He passed away on January 10, three days after his arrest.
Chief of Police Cerelyn Davis of the Memphis Police Department has fired the involved officers.
In the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020, Ms. Davis, who became the force’s first black female commander in 2021, advocated for “sweeping adjustments and police reform”
Reverend Sharpton, speaking at a weekly National Action Network gathering, stated, “So there’s a new precedent now. Because this black female police chief screwed you, arrest and fire them.
“The clock has been reset in terms of police accountability. We are not interested in a one-year probe.”
Regarding the involvement of race, he stated, “Someone said to me, ‘Well, at least it’s not about race.'”
“I stated that the racial aspect was that those black men believed they could get away with assaulting a black man.
You couldn’t get away with doing that to a white man in Tennessee. And you won’t get away with it to a black man either.
During a Saturday press conference of local leaders, state representative Joe Towns Jr. echoed the remarks of the Reverend Sharpton for the speedy probe.
In addition, he stated that police chief Davis had his full support and praised her for taking “immediate action.”
The remarks were made after a memorial fund established for Mr. Nichols surpassed $535,000 (£433,000).
The goal of the GoFundMe page created by Mr. Nichols’s mother is to assist pay for a memorial skate park in his honor and to give his family time off to grieve and seek justice.
At least nine U.S. cities, including Memphis, are protesting the bodycam clip.
Mrs. Nichols’s mother, RowVaughn Wells, had previously cautioned fans about the “horrific” nature of the video. But asked for peace, stating that “tearing up the streets” is “not what my son stood for.”
The footage of Tyre Nichols’ fatal beating “outraged and greatly disturbed” US President Joe Biden.
“This is simply another sad reminder of the immense terror and trauma, anguish, and tiredness that black and brown Americans experience daily,” he continued.
