Closing summary
We will leave it there for tonight, here are the key moments from today:
Memphis police released footage of deadly traffic stop that resulted in the death of 29 year old Tyre Nichols.
The disturbing video footage, which was released in several parts, showed Nichols crying out “mom” as he was on the ground with officers around him. Some of the chaotic footage shows officers punching and kicking Nichols. One officer shouted that he would “baton the fuck outta of you”.
The footage has elicited comparisons to the beating of Rodney King in 1991. Here is a description of the videos released by the Memphis police department.
The sheriff of Shelby county, Tennessee announced that two deputies who were at the scene after Tyre Nichols was beaten have been “relieved of duty”.
Five police officers – Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr and Justin Smith – were charged on Thursday with murder. Here is an explanation of the charges.
Protests erupted across the country, including in Memphis, where the connecting I-55 bridge between Memphis, Tennessee and West Memphis, Arkansas was blocked.
3 protesters were arrested in New York after a police vehicle window was smashed, among what was described as a mostly “peaceful” demonstration.
Nichols’s mother, RowVaughn Wells, said she has not been able to bring herself to watch the videos of her son’s beating, urging carers to shield children when the footage is being played. “The humanity of it all. Where was the humanity? They beat my son like a piñata,” she said in an interview with CNN. “People don’t know what those five police officers did to our family.”
Joe Biden spoke with Wells and Nichols’s stepdad, Rodney Wells, to express condolences. “There are no words to describe the heartbreak and grief of losing a beloved child and young father,” the president said. “But Mr and Mrs Wells, Mr Nichols’s son, and his whole family deserve a swift, full and transparent investigation.”
