Tyre Nichols death: Haunting video of arrest is sickening indictment of policing that night in Memphis
Of all the words used prior to prepare us, nothing spoke louder than the pictures.
That the images were captured on police bodycams made it the more chilling – a murderer’s eye view, as the indictment would have it.
The video footage is as shocking as it is haunting.
Having stopped Tyre Nichols in his car, Memphis police officers instantly escalate a situation to extreme violence.
Tyre is the only man featured on film seemingly trying to calm the situation.
Unfortunately, fatally, it is beyond his control.
It is difficult to watch him wrestled to the ground, calling out to his mother in the last words that he would ever speak.
Tyre receives no treatment until an ambulance arrives after more than 20 minutes.
We watch for more than 20 minutes as he is propped, handcuffed, against a vehicle, clearly in distress.
As his condition deteriorates, he slumps sideways to the ground.
He is a man dying, and yet, all those around him appear to stand by and do nothing.
Tyre Nichols died three days after he was beaten by police
The police officers who inflicted the fatal injuries share a debrief, fist bumping each other.
You can hear the adrenaline.
It is a sickening indictment of policing as it happened that night in Memphis.
Lawyers for Tyre’s family say it reflects a police culture embedded in racism and the abuse of power – no matter that the officers involved are black, they say, as the problem lies in a learned expectation of immunity and impunity that pervades policing.
The same lawyers are gratified by the speed and seriousness of the charges laid against the officers involved.
They see progress, and say it should be a blueprint for similar cases in future – now, they gain sympathy and support through the violent and very public demise of a much-loved young man in Memphis.
Tyre Nichols himself, as seen and heard in his last moments, moves us to care.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting Donald Trump next Monday, according to US officials.
The visit on 7 July comes after Mr Trump suggested it was possible a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached within a week.
On Sunday, he wrote on social media: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”
At least 60 people killed across Gaza on Monday, in what turned out to be some of the heaviest attacks in weeks.
Benjamin Netanyahu, left, with Donald Trump during a previous meeting. Pic: Reuters
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 56,500 people have been killed in the 20-month war.
The visit by Mr Netanyahu to Washington has not been formally announced and the officials who said it would be going ahead spoke on condition of anonymity.
An Israeli official in Washington also confirmed the meeting next Monday.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was in constant communication with the Israeli government.
She said Mr Trump viewed ending the war in Gaza and returning remaining hostages held by Hamas as a top priority.
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The war in Gaza broke out in retaliation for Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw a further 250 taken hostage.
An eight-week ceasefire was reached in the final days of Joe Biden’s US presidency, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.
Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled over whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire.
The man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death has agreed to plead guilty to the murders, in a move that would spare him from the death penalty.
Bryan Kohberger, 30, was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania weeks after the killings in November 2022.
He was accused of sneaking into the rented home in Moscow, Idaho, which is not far from the university campus, and attacking Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.
Kaylee Goncalves, Maddie Mogen and Xana Kernodle, and Xana’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin
Kohberger previously pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, but is now set to be sentenced to four consecutive life sentences and waive all rights to appeal.
The family of Ms Goncalves spoke of their fury at the reported plea deal.
In a statement after media reports about the deal, they said: “It’s true! We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho. They have failed us. Please give us some time. This was very unexpected. We appreciate all your love and support.”
In a separate statement, they said: “After more than two years, this is how it concludes with a secretive deal and a hurried effort to close the case without any input from the victims’ families on the plea’s details.”
Autopsies showed the four were all likely asleep when they were attacked, some had defensive wounds and each was stabbed multiple times. Two other women in the house at the time survived.
Investigators matched Kohberger’s DNA to genetic material recovered from a knife sheath found at the crime scene.
Bryan Kohberger’s mugshot. Pic: Monroe County Correctional Facility
A letter from prosecutors to the victims’ families, obtained by US media, said Kohberger’s lawyers had approached them to seek a plea deal.
“This resolution is our sincere attempt to seek justice for your family,” the letter said.
“This agreement ensures that the defendant will be convicted, will spend the rest of his life in prison, and will not be able to put you and the other families through the uncertainty of decades of post-conviction, appeals.”
In Idaho, judges can reject plea agreements – but such incidents are rare. Defendants do have the right to withdraw their guilty plea if this happens.
A change of plea hearing has been set for tomorrow, with the victims’ families asking for it to be delayed so they can travel to the courthouse.
A gunman suspected of having started a fire to “ambush” firefighters in Idaho and kill them has been named as Wess Val Roley.
The 20-year-old is said to have aspired to become a firefighter before the attack on Sunday, which saw him allegedly perched in a sniper position, firing at the firefighters as they sought to put out a fire, which authorities believe he intentionally started.
Two firefighters were killed and one was injured as they came under gunfire over several hours, according to authorities.
An armoured police vehicle near where the firefighters were attacked. Pic: Reuters
They said the incident took place after they asked him to move his vehicle.
Roley was later found dead in the mountains with a firearm nearby.
Sky News’ US partner network NBC quoted Roley’s grandfather, Dale Roley, as saying “something must have snapped” in his grandson for him to commit such violence.
“He actually really respected law enforcement,” Mr Roley said. “He loved firefighters. It didn’t make sense that he was shooting firefighters. Maybe he got rejected or something.”
Mr Roley added: “I know he had been in contact to get a job with a fire department.
“He wanted to be part of a team that he sort of idolised.”
Bob Norris, the sheriff of Kootenai County, said on Sunday: “We do believe that the suspect started the fire.
“This was a total ambush. These firefighters did not have a chance.”
The firefighters were responding to a blaze. Pic: Reuters
Officers said they were “taking sniper fire” near the city of Coeur d’Alene on Sunday afternoon, with crews responding to a fire at Canfield Mountain.
Mr Norris said the gunman had used high-powered sporting rifles to fire rapidly at first responders. The ambush continued for several hours.
More than 300 officers from city, county, state and federal levels responded. Two helicopters were deployed with snipers onboard.
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First responders could be heard making urgent calls for help on their radios. “Everybody’s shot up here… send law enforcement now,” one dispatch said.
Later, the sheriff’s office said members of a SWAT team “located a deceased male on Canfield Mountain”, adding that a “firearm was found nearby”.
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