Authorities in the US city of Memphis released a video clip of five police officers beating a 29-year-old black man during his arrest, and he died on January 10, three days after he was taken to the hospital. The incident prompted calls for protests and fears of possible unrest in country. While US President Joe Biden expressed his “extreme anger and pain” over the scenes, saying they would “make people’s anger justified” while urging demonstrators to keep the peace.
The video clip, which has been described as “painful”, shows 29-year-old Tyre Nichols being beaten by police as he calls for his mother while he is being beaten.
Five black police officers were charged with second-degree murder in the beating of Nichols, who died in hospital on Jan. 10, three days after his arrest, which authorities called “horrible.”
On January 7, the police wanted to arrest Nichols for a traffic violation and they have since been suspended from their duties.
A lengthy video clip filmed by police cameras and a street surveillance camera shows the police arresting Nichols, trying to pin him down with a detonator, and then chasing him after he tried to escape from them.
It also shows scenes of Nichols groaning as he was repeatedly kicked and punched by officers.
And U.S. President Joe Biden said he felt “intense anger and pain” over the scenes, saying they would “make people’s anger justified.”
Biden reiterated his call to demonstrators to keep the peace, saying, “Those who seek justice must not resort to violence or vandalism.”
During a press conference on Friday, the victim’s mother, Rowon Wells, urged calm but addressed the police officers who beat her son “to death,” as she put it, saying, “You have dishonored your families by doing this.”
