Memphis’ police chief said video of the Jan. 10 beating by five police officers that killed 29-year-old Tyre Nichols included “acts that defy humanity.”
We had fair warning, but the 66 minutes of body-worn and lamp-mounted camera images released Friday night confirmed the chief’s characterization and then some. Here were officers pulling over Nichols’ car for no clear reason. Here was Nichols pleading, “I’m just trying to go home.” Here were men charged with enforcing the law punching and kicking and striking a civilian as he lay on the ground, apparently handcuffed, and tasing him. Here was Nichols crying out for his mother. Here were cops deploying pepper spray and accidentally spraying one another. Here was a painful 20-minute delay between the beatdown and the arrival of an ambulance.
This was less a police action than a gang assault on a Black man — a murder by violent felons who happened to be collecting government salaries, wearing uniforms and wielding the power of the state.
