The case of Tyre Nichols, the man who was hospitalized and later died following a traffic stop in Memphis, Tennessee, sparked protests and a probe into the incident.
The family of the victim is demanding police authorities release the official body camera footage and security video of the encounter. Nichols was taken to the hospital in critical condition after Memphis law enforcement personnel stopped him for reckless driving on Jan. 7, 2023, as revealed by a statement from the police department.
Memphis Traffic Stop Death
Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump is the one who is representing the family of Nichols and is asking police to release video from the encounter. In a statement, he added that "all of the available information tells us that this was the tragic and preventable death of a young man."
Crump argued that nobody should ever lose their life over a simple traffic stop, adding that the footage is the only way for them to determine the true narrative of why and how the incident played out, as per NBC News.
On Monday, family members of Nichols demonstrated outside of the National Civil Rights Museum alongside protesters. They held up signs that featured photos of the victim and were accompanied by Nichol's stepfather, Rodney Wells, for their demonstrations over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.
Police officers said that a "confrontation" between Nichols and law enforcement personnel occurred during the traffic stop. They said that the victim ran away, which prompted officers to make their pursuit.
The police department said that while officers were attempting to take Nichols into custody, another confrontation between the parties occurred. They added that the suspect was ultimately apprehended during the encounter. Authorities said that the suspect then complained of shortness of breath and was the time when an ambulance was called to the scene.
Protests Against Potential Brutality
The Shelby County District Attorney's Office was contacted due to Nichols' conditions and TBI special agents were also requested to conduct a use-of-force investigation. In a statement, the Memphis Police Department said that the officers involved in the encounter would be routinely relieved of duty pending the outcome of the probe, according to ABC News.
The TBI said that three days after Nichols was transferred to the hospital, on Jan. 10, 2023, he succumbed to his injuries. Five days after the Black man's death, the Memphis Police Department announced that it had immediately launched its own administrative investigation of the incident over potential policy violations.
In a statement released on Sunday, Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis said that after reviewing of various information regarding the incident, he has found that it was necessary to take immediate and appropriate action.
The internal investigation of the police department is expected to be completed later this week. In a Sunday statement, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland added that they took departmental violations very seriously.
Wells noted that his stepson died due to a cardiac arrest and kidney failure that he got as a result of getting beaten up by police officers during the encounter. He added that when they got to the hospital, they were left devastated, said CBS News.
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