The officers are suspected of beating 29-year-old Nichols to death during a traffic stop almost three weeks ago. Second-degree murder is an intermediate stage between murder and manslaughter in the state of Tennessee, where Memphis is located. Kidnapping in this case refers to the illegal detention of a human being.
Tire Nichols' death has been causing a stir in the United States for days. The 29-year-old was stopped in his car on the evening of January 7 because he was accused of dangerous driving. According to a police statement, there was a "confrontation" and Nichols fled on foot. When the police caught him after a chase, another "confrontation" is said to have taken place. An ambulance was called because Nichols then complained of breathing difficulties.
The black man was taken to a hospital with serious injuries and died there three days later. His family has released a photo showing him in hospital with severe swelling on his face and on a breathing machine. An autopsy commissioned by the family concluded that Nichols suffered massive bleeding as a result of "heavy beatings".
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis expressed her dismay at the 29-year-old's death in an online video Wednesday night. The actions of the police officers were "disgusting" and "inhuman". "This is not just a professional failure. This is a failure of basic humanity."
Video recordings of the incident are to be released on Friday for reasons of transparency. Authorities fear this could lead to violent protests. In light of this, US President Joe Biden called for calm on Thursday, declaring: "As America mourns, the Justice Department conducts its investigation and state agencies continue to do their work, I join Tire's family in calling for the protests to be peaceful ."
The head of the investigative agency in southern Tennessee, David Rausch, said Thursday that the video footage was "absolutely appalling". Nichol's family has already seen the video. A lawyer for the family later said the 29-year-old had been "defenseless the whole time". The officers beat him continuously for three minutes. "He was a human pinata to those cops." Piñatas are figures filled with candy or toys that are smashed with a stick by children at birthday parties, especially in Mexico.
In the USA, deadly police violence against black people causes horror and outrage again and again. Often - although not in the case of Tire Nichols - white police officers are the perpetrators, as in the case of George Floyd, who was killed in an arrest in Minneapolis in May 2020.
The Nichols case brings back memories of the Rodney King case in 1991. The African-American man was brutally beaten by the police in Los Angeles after a chase. The acquittal of four white police officers in a trial the following year sparked the worst racial riots in America since the 1960s. 53 people were killed.
