Tyre Nichols: Man who died after ‘three-minute police beating’ was treated like ‘human pinata’ by officers, says family lawyer
A man who died after allegedly being beaten by police for three minutes was a “human pinata” for the officers, according to a family lawyer.
Tyre Nichols, 29, died in hospital three days after a confrontation during a traffic stop in the US city of Memphis, Tennessee, on 7 January.
The father of one had been arrested after being stopped for reckless driving, police said.
Five black officers involved in the arrest have been sacked after a police investigation found they used excessive force or failed to intervene and help him.
Relatives have accused police of attacking Mr Nichols and causing him to have a heart attack. But authorities have only said he had a medical emergency.
A lawyer for Mr Nichols’ family, Antonio Romanucci, said the beating lasted three minutes and “he was a human pinata for those police officers”.
Another lawyer, Ben Crump, said the bodycam footage of the incident reminded the family and lawyers of the 1991 video of Rodney King being beaten by police in Los Angeles, where a year later officers were acquitted by a jury, leading to riots in the city.
He said the footage of the latest encounter shows it was “violent” and “troublesome on every level”, and added it was “appalling”, “deplorable” and “heinous”.
Mr Crump said the video will be released to the public but not for a week or two.
Investigators do not want to show it yet because they do not want to risk compromising the investigation, according to Shelby County district attorney Steve Mulroy.
An image is held up of Mr Nichols when he was in hospital. Pic: AP
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Fear of riots
There is concern among city and community leaders that the footage could cause civil unrest when it is eventually released.
Mr Nichols’ stepfather, Rodney Wells, said the family hopes that any protests stay peaceful.
Van Turner, president of the Memphis chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, a civil rights organisation, also said the city seems tense as it waits for the video.
He praised the city and the police department for taking “quick action” in firing the officers, identified as Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr and Justin Smith.
(L-R) Officers Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean have been sacked
‘No cause of death established’
The day after Mr Nichols’ arrest, the police department stated that as officers approached his vehicle, “a confrontation occurred” and he ran.
It said officers then caught up with him and “another confrontation occurred” while they were taking him into custody.
He complained of shortness of breath and was admitted to hospital, according to police.
A cause of death has not been determined, said officials.
World
Ukraine war: 14 killed as Russian missile and drone attacks strike Kyiv – including American citizen
Russian missile and drone attacks have killed 14 people in Kyiv overnight, according to Ukrainian officials.
A 62-year-old US citizen who suffered shrapnel wounds is among the dead.
At least 99 others were wounded in strikes that hollowed out a residential building and destroyed dozens of apartments.
Pic: AP
Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble.
Images show a firefighter was among those hurt, with injured residents evacuated from their homes.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as “one of the most terrifying attacks on Kyiv” – and said Russian forces had fired 440 drones and 32 missiles as civilians slept in their homes.
“[Putin] wants the war to go on,” he said. “It is troubling when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to it.”
Pic: AP
Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said 27 locations across the capital have been hit – including educational institutions and critical infrastructure.
He claimed the attack, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, was one of the largest on the capital since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Drones swarmed over the city, with an air raid alert remaining in force for seven hours.
One person was killed and 17 others injured as a result of separate Russian drone strikes in the port city of Odesa.
Pic: Reuters
It comes as the G7 summit in Canada continues, which Ukraine’s leader is expected to attend.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold talks with Donald Trump – but the president has announced he is unexpectedly returning to Washington because of tensions in the Middle East.
Ukraine’s foreign minister says Moscow’s decision to attack Kyiv during the summit is a signal of disrespect to the US.
Moscow has launched a record number of drones and missiles in recent weeks, and says the attacks are in retaliation for a Ukrainian operation that targeted warplanes in airbases deep within Russian territory.
Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko says fires broke out in two of the city’s districts as a result of debris from drones shot down by the nation’s air defences.
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Pic: AP
On X, Ukraine’s foreign ministry wrote: “Russia’s campaign of terror against civilians continues. Its war against Ukraine escalates with increased brutality.
“The only way to stop Russia is tighter pressure – through sanctions, more defence support for Ukraine, and limiting Russia’s ability to keep sowing war.”
Olena Lapyshnak, who lived in one of the destroyed buildings, said: “It’s horrible, it’s scary, in one moment there is no life. I can only curse the Russians, that’s all I can say. They shouldn’t exist in this world.”
World
Israeli tank shelling kills 51 people waiting for aid in Khan Younis, Hamas-run health ministry says
Israeli tank shellfire has killed at least 51 Palestinians in Khan Younis, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.
Hundreds of others have been injured, with “dozens of critical cases” arriving at a medical complex.
It is feared that the number of fatalities will rise.
Pic: Reuters
The strikes took place as people waited for United Nations and commercial aid trucks in the southern Gaza city.
Witnesses said that Israeli forces carried out an airstrike on a nearby home before opening fire toward the crowd.
“Emergency, intensive care, and operating rooms are experiencing severe overcrowding,” a statement said.
Officials say medical staff “are operating with limited supplies of life-saving medicines” – with the ministry renewing an “urgent appeal” to increase aid.
Pic: Reuters
Hours earlier, Donald Trump had joined other G7 leaders to call for a “de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza”.
The Israeli military is yet to comment on this incident.
On Monday, Gaza’s health ministry said at least 34 people were shot dead near food distribution centres.
This was the highest reported daily total since Israel and US-backed aid centres opened last month, with thousands of Palestinians moving through Israeli military-controlled areas to reach them.
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