The Tyre Nichols situation

On Friday evening, the city of Memphis released four videos showing footage of the January 7 traffic stop that led to the death of 29-year-old Black motorist Tyre Nichols. You can watch them here. (WARNING: Contains graphic content and language.)

📹 A deeper dive… The footage was obtained from officer body cams and a security camera located on a nearby light pole. At first, it shows a group of three policemen stopping Nichols, pulling him from his car, and attempting to wrestle him to the ground using a taser, while Nichols can be heard saying “I didn’t do anything.”

• When Nichols ran away from the first three officers on foot, they intercepted him at another intersection along with two other officers.
• Then, the five officers – all of whom are Black – collectively wrestled Nichols to the ground using pepper spray, holding him there while repeatedly striking him with their fists, boots, and batons for about three minutes.
• Afterwards, they left Nichols propped against a squad car while officers can be seen fist-bumping and celebrating. It was more than 20 minutes before any sort of medical attention was provided to Nichols, despite two fire department officers with medical equipment arriving on the scene within ten minutes.

🚨 Why was Tyre Nichols initially pulled over?... Short answer: it’s still unclear. At first, the Memphis Police Department said Nichols was stopped for “reckless driving,” which under Tennessee state law includes offenses like running a stop sign or traffic light, illegally merging or switching lanes, failing to use a turn signal, and tailgating.

But Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis later walked back that claim, telling CNN on Friday that after “a pretty extensive look to determine what that probable cause was, we have not been able to substantiate that [Nichols was driving recklessly]. It doesn't mean that something didn't happen, but there's no proof.”

⏩ The aftermath: Nichols was eventually taken to the hospital and died three days later, with his family saying he was fatally beaten beyond recognition. The local medical examiner’s office hasn’t released Nichols’ autopsy results yet.

• The five officers depicted in the videos were fired on January 20, and arrested last Thursday on charges including second-degree murder, aggravated assault, and kidnapping.
• On Saturday, the Memphis Police Department disbanded its “Scorpion” unit, a hand-picked group established in 2021 to fight violent street crime. Its 40 members included the five former officers.

🇺🇲 Zoom out: Dozens of protesters gathered in several large cities across the US over the weekend for mostly peaceful demonstrations, which sometimes led to blocked traffic on highways. Overall, the AP reported that protests were smaller and more scattered than many officials and local businesses had expected.

📊 Flash poll (long-form): In your opinion, what can be done to reduce instances of police brutality in America? The best responses will be featured in tomorrow’s newsletter.

• Click here to leave a response.