US indicts five ex-officers in Tyre Nichols' death

Bangkok Post Group

Five former Memphis policemen were federally charged on Tuesday with violating the civil rights of Black motorist Tyre Nichols by beating him to death after a traffic stop and engaging in a cover-up. - REUTERS

Transcript

00:00 Five former Memphis policemen were charged in federal court Tuesday with violating the

00:06 civil rights of Tyree Nichols by beating him to death after a traffic stop and engaging

00:11 in a cover-up.

00:12 U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland detailed the four-count federal indictment, which includes

00:17 two civil rights charges.

00:18 "Today the Justice Department informed the family of Tyree Nichols that we have charged

00:24 five former Memphis police detectives with federal crimes in connection with the death

00:29 of Mr. Nichols.

00:31 We also allege that while Mr. Nichols lay dying in a hospital, the defendants conspired

00:36 to cover up their crimes, including by falsely stating that Mr. Nichols had actively resisted

00:43 arrest."

00:45 Police body cam footage showed the five officers pummeling Nichols with kicks, punches and

00:49 baton blows, dousing him with pepper spray and firing a stun gun at him following a traffic

00:55 stop in January this year.

00:57 Nichols could be heard in the video crying out for his mother and pleading with the officers.

01:03 The 29-year-old father, aspiring photographer and avid skateboarder, was hospitalized after

01:09 the attack and died three days later.

01:12 The case has renewed a long-running national debate over racial injustice and police brutality.

01:17 U.S. President Joe Biden cited the incident in calling for police reforms during his State

01:22 of the Union address in February, as Nichols' family watched on from the audience.

01:28 Lawyers for several of the officers have already released statements saying they intend to

01:32 fight the new charges.

01:34 Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who is representing the Nichols family, thanked the grand jury

01:38 "for affirming what we already know in our hearts, that police officers brutally killed

01:44 Tyree Nichols and it was unjustified, unnecessary and unconstitutional."

01:49 The new charges are separate from those of second-degree murder, aggravated assault and

01:53 official misconduct that were previously brought by local prosecutors in Tennessee state court

01:59 against the ex-officers, to which they pleaded not guilty in February.

02:03 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Category

Transcript

Recommended