Status: 27.01.2023 00:12
After the death of a black man, five ex-cops in the US state of Tennessee have been charged. They are said to have beaten the man for minutes at a traffic stop in Memphis. A video of the operation is scheduled to be released today.
The death of a black man after a traffic stop in the US state of Tennessee has legal consequences for the five ex-cops. They were charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault and kidnapping, District Attorney Steve Mulroy said at a news conference. Second-degree murder is equivalent to manslaughter in the German legal system.
29-year-old Tire Nichols was pulled over by police in Memphis on January 7 for reckless driving. According to a family lawyer, he was beaten up so severely by the emergency services for several minutes that he died a few days later as a result. Like the victim, the former police officers now charged are African American.
Video material is to be published
An autopsy report revealed that Nichols suffered profuse bleeding from severe beatings. Video footage of the crime, which has already been shown to the victim’s family, is scheduled to be released on Friday evening, local time. Tennessee Criminal Investigation Chief David Rausch said he was dismayed, shocked and disgusted by what he saw in the video. The act was “absolutely appalling,” said Rausch.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis expressed her dismay at the 29-year-old’s death in an online video. The actions of the police officers were “disgusting” and “inhuman”. “This is not just a professional failure. This is a failure of basic humanity.”
Black people disproportionately affected by police violence
The police had fired the five officers because of the incident on Wednesday. They said they used excessive force, did not intervene and did not provide assistance.
Lawyers for the victim’s family denounced the US police’s racist treatment of black people in the country. Deadly police violence is a regular occurrence in the United States. Black people are disproportionately affected. In the past, such attacks have sparked violent protests across the country.