” Mummy mummy… “ Tire Nichols called out to his mother for help, in a desperate, high-pitched rattle. This 29-year-old African-American father was fiercely beaten by police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, on the evening of January 7, as he was driving home. He died three days later in hospital from his injuries.
On Friday January 27, the local authorities published a long montage of several video sequences showing the arrest in its entiretyspreading a shock wave in the city and mobilizing all the national channels.
Two separate incidents took place, documented both by a body-worn camera worn by a police officer and by CCTV footage. During the first, Tire Nichols suffered a botched immobilization attempt after being extracted from his vehicle, without resistance, with a total disproportion of violent gestures and many invectives. “I just want to go home…” Frightened, he managed to escape on foot.
He was found in a second location, a deserted street, around 8:30 p.m. Held first by two police officers, the victim was sprayed with tear gas, kicked and punched, then truncheoned. telescopic. He was picked up to be hit on the head. Then Tire Nichols remained handcuffed to the ground, in a prone position, dragged on the ground to a car. The minutes passed. Almost as shocking as the violence, it is the indifference of the police to the victim in distress, his dehumanization, which seizes.
Impunity of some police services
Although released, the five black police officers in question were dismissed and charged with extremely serious charges: including murder, assault with aggravating circumstances and kidnapping. “They are all responsible”local prosecutor Steve Mulroy said, although their precise role in the beatings varied. “Where was their humanity? They beat my son like a piñata”, said her tearful mother on CNN, in reference to the decorated object full of sweets and toys that are burst with sticks in the Mexican tradition. Tire Nichols skateboarded a lot and loved photography.
The authorities decided to release the video only Friday evening at 7 p.m., thus creating a sort of dismal count on the news channels. The city’s police chief, Cerelyn Davis, explained that in the early evening, the businesses would be closed and the children would return home, safe. It is to say the pessimism which reigned concerning the impact of the bewildering images. These also justified the speed of the sanctions against the culprits, who belonged to a Scorpion team, an acronym designating units in charge of daily delinquency.
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