Attorneys liken Tyre Nichols’ Memphis arrest to Rodney King beating

RowVaughn Wells, second from left, mother of Tyre Nichols, who died after being beaten by Memphis police officers, cries as she is comforted by Tyre’s stepfather, Rodney Wells, behind her, at a news conference with civil rights Attorney Ben Crump, left, in Memphis, Tenn., on Monday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis police officers beat motorist Tyre Nichols for three minutes, treating him like “a human piñata” in a “savage” encounter reminiscent of the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King, attorneys for the family said Monday.

Attorney Ben Crump said police video viewed by the family on Monday showed that Nichols was shocked, pepper-sprayed and restrained after the 29-year-old FedEx worker and father was pulled over Jan. 7, minutes from his home while returning from a suburban park where he had taken photos of the sunset. Another attorney, Antonio Romanucci, said that Nichols, who was Black, was kicked before Crump stopped him from saying more.