BREAKING: Officers Charged With Killing Black Man
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
MEMPHIS, USA (Worthy News) – Authorities urged the public to remain calm as five former police officers in the U.S. State of Tennessee were charged with second-degree murder after a Black man died following a traffic stop.
Tyre Nichols, 29, was stopped in the city of Memphis on January 7 for “reckless driving.”
He died three days later after he was severely beaten, according to footage due to be released Friday at 18:00 hours local time.
There were two altercations between Tyre Nichols and the officers, the second leading to his severe injuries and ultimately to his death, District Attorney Mulroy explained. Mulroy told reporters that after an “initial altercation, pepper spray was deployed.”
A second altercation followed at a nearby location, during which Nichols’ injuries were sustained reportedly by beatings. “After some time, he was taken away by an ambulance,” Mulroy recalled.
Asked if the ambulance call was “delayed,” Mulroy refused to provide more details.
The five officers, who joined the Memphis Police Department in the last six years, were fired last week after investigators found them to be “directly responsible for the physical abuse of Mr. Nichols.”
PRESIDENT BIDEN BRIEFED
With tensions mounting, U.S. President Joe Biden was briefed on the situation, officials said.
Similar cases led to violent protests, but the police chief asked the public to stay calm once the incident footage was made public.
Amid the outrage, the five officers, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III, and Justin Smith, are all in custody, officials said.
In a reaction, prominent civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci said Nichols’ death highlights a need for police reform. “This young man lost his life in a particularly disgusting manner that points to the desperate need for change and reform to ensure this violence stops occurring during low-threat procedures, like in this case, a traffic stop,” they said in published remarks.
They added that the incident “meets the absolute definition of a needless and unnecessary death.”
“Tyre’s loved ones’ lives were forever changed when he was beaten to death, and we will keep saying his name until justice is served,” the statement said.
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