The death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old father, photographer, and skateboarder, has sparked outrage and calls for justice after a leaked body camera footage of his encounter with the police was made public.
The incident occurred when police officers stopped Nichols for alleged reckless driving. The footage, which has since been shared widely on social media, shows police officers pushing Nichols to the ground, using a stun gun/taser on him, and pepper spraying him, while Nichols can be heard saying that he didn’t do anything.
According to CBS, Nichols’ stepfather said that Nichols died from cardiac arrest and kidney failure, while an independent autopsy revealed that Nichols had extensive bleeding caused by the beating.
Nichols’ mother said in an interview, “Nobody’s perfect, nobody. But he was damn near. He was damn near perfect”.
The video has been met with widespread condemnation and calls for justice for Nichols and his family.
The video was reposted across multiple social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube and got over 3 million views in less than 24 hours.
The footage, which is body cam footage of one of the police officers who arrived late to the scene as backup, shows Nichols already pinned down by two officers when the footage begins.
Earlier footage of the video was not released, so it’s not known what happened at the start. Throughout the video, an officer can be heard repeatedly saying “Give me your hands!”.
The death of Tyre Nichols is a tragic reminder of the ongoing issues of police brutality and the need for accountability and reform within the police force. It is important that those responsible for his death are held accountable and that steps are taken to prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future.
In a video, Tyre Nichols’ mother spoke to a large crowd and urged parents to not let their children watch the footage. “Hello, thank you all for coming and showing support for my family and my son. I really appreciate everything everyone is doing”, she said. “My son is looking down smiling because you know, it’s funny, he always said he was going to be famous one day”.
“I’ve never seen the video, but what I’ve heard is very horrific, and any of you who have children, please, don’t let them see it”.
“I just want to ask for prayer from my family this whole community and I want to say to the five police officers who murdered my son, you all are a disgrace to your own families”.
“We want justice for my son. Free justice for Tyre. Justice for Tyre”.
The death of Tyre Nichols is a sad reminder of the ongoing issues of police brutality and the need for accountability and reform within the police force.
It is important that those responsible for his death are held accountable and that steps are taken to prevent similar tragedies from happening.