has caused shocks all over the world. The violent death of African-American Tayar Nichols during his arrest in Memphis by five African-American police officers
Key points
Thousands of Americans flooded the streets and squares of the country in demonstrations in memory of the 29-year-old, with the president, Joe Biden, “standing by their side” and stressing that he was “outraged” and “deeply hurt” by seeing her “horrific” video of the violent arrest of the African-American Tyree Nichols in Memphis by the police.
The authorities fear further violent demonstrations, while the five police officers who killed the young man have been remanded in custody and are facing serious charges. The videos of the arrest of the African-American are appalling.
The Chronicles
It’s just after 8 p.m. on January 7th in Memphis when the police car pulls up and forcefully opens the driver’s door of the vehicle in front, asking him to get out. The 29-year-old African-American, Tayar Nichols, is surprised by the violent behaviour of the police and tries to understand what is happening.
The officers are screaming and insisting that he get on the ground. In the body camera video, Nichols is shown not resisting but being very frightened and asking them to let him go.
In severe pain from the pressure of the police, he manages to make a manoeuvre to escape them.
The cops run in furiously and recapture him. Nichols lets out a loud scream, and then the five officers on top of him start punching him in the face. He even begs them to “let him go if he goes home.”
He is constantly being pulled, pushed, and hit. The 29-year-old, as was natural, can be seen sitting almost passed out on the ground. The policemen sit further away and do not even give him a glass of water.
Nichols tries to speak, but one of the officers tells him to “get the hell out of here.” As they hit him, he shouted “
After 30 minutes, the 29-year-old is taken to the hospital, and three days later, he succumbs to his injuries.
Videos of the tragic attack are making the rounds around the world and are causing chills as it appears—particularly from a camera that was on a light pole near the scene—that the officers hit Nichols in the head a total of nine times in four minutes. In fact, the 29-year-old did not react, nor did he behave violently.
The five police officers arrested face charges of manslaughter, causing grievous bodily harm, assault, and kidnapping.
“Accountable”
After hearing the news of the death, the American states began to react in every way to the inhuman event. Demonstrations against police brutality flooded Memphis. People are shouting at the police, “What are you going to do?”
New York’s Times Square was also filled with people, with the demonstration getting out of control and causing incidents. People were getting into cars, and police officers were running in panic.
For Monica Johnson, a 24-year-old activist who moved there from Atlanta, what’s important now is that the police are “held accountable” and that all the officers involved are convicted.
“We demand that the Scorpion unit, which included the officers who beat Tyre Nichols, be disbanded,” he added.”Anyone can fall into the trap of power hunger.”
Robert Waters, an African-American musician, went to Memphis to participate in a blues competition. But with fears of trouble breaking out, the 67-year-old retired soldier decided to leave before the video was released.
“In this day and age, you have a right to think things like this can’t happen,” he said, referring to the brutal beating of Tyree Nichols.
“I’m black in America. “And this fear is something that my son and I grew up with,” he added.
The fact that the police officers involved were all black “hurts” him; it is a “great disappointment,” he added.
“This shows that anyone can fall into the trap of thirst for power,” according to Robert Waters, but in any case, Tyree Nichols “shouldn’t” have died like this, “period,” he added.
