Barack Obama and wife Michelle react to ‘unjustified’ beating of Tyre Nichols
Barack Obama and his wife Michelle have called for reform following the death of a black man beaten to death by a group of cops. WARNING: GRAPHIC
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Former US President Barack Obama has called out the “unjustified” fatal beating of Tyre Nichols after horrific footage emerged.
In a joint tweet, Barack and Michelle Obama said that Nichols death is a “painful reminder” for America.
“The vicious, unjustified beating of Tyre Nichols and his ultimate death at the hands of five Memphis police officers is just the latest, painful reminder of how far America still has to go in fixing how we police our streets,” the couple tweeted.
The vicious, unjustified beating of Tyre Nichols and his ultimate death at the hands of five Memphis police officers is just the latest, painful reminder of how far America still has to go in fixing how we police our streets. pic.twitter.com/ITmrNNJhiT
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 28, 2023
It comes as thousands of protesters have rallied against the fatal police assault in Times Square and Washington Square Park in New York City after the city of Memphis released a graphic video of the fatal police assault of Nichols.
Nichols, a 29-year-old FedEx driver, died at the hospital three days after his arrest.
ARRESTS MADE DURING PROTESTS
As the protests spilt over into violence and arrests were made, the Rev. Al Sharpton called for demonstrators to remain peaceful because police “want violence.”
Sharpton, scheduled to deliver Nichols’ eulogy at Wednesday’s funeral in Memphis, spoke at a rally at the House of Justice in Harlem.
“We are going to continue protesting, but we’re going to do it non violently as we always have done,” Sharpton told the crowd, according to Fox News.
“Anybody that engages in violence are helping the police get away with what they did. ‘Cause what they want to do is see violence so they can say, ‘See, this is why the police had to do what they did. You see how out of control they are.’ Don’t play into the narrative that will end up helping them defend what they did.”
“They’re going to have some provocateurs that are going to try to get in our marches and then our protests,” he added.
“Sit them down. We are going to respect what this family has asked for and the strategy of the lawyers, and we are going forward and be as fervent, passionate as we can. We are not going to stop being angry, but we are not going into violence.”
Sharpton said he was not “anti-police” or “anti-white.”
His remarks came after three protesters were arrested in Times Square on the weekend.
Argenis Rivera, 33, was charged with criminal mischief for allegedly jumping on the hood of a marked NYPD cruiser and kicking in the windshield.
Police sources told NY Daily News that Rivera has prior arrests for assault and robbery. He was recently arrested for choking someone in October.
According to the New York Post he had been arrested previously for allegedly strangling a woman who was pushing her two-year-old child in a stroller in the Chelsea area of Manhattan.
Another protester, 25-year-old Candy Nicole allegedly punched one officer in the nose and a second in the head. Nicole was charged with assault, hate crime assault, and two counts of obstruction of governmental administration. Nicole has since been released on her own recognisance, the New York Post reported.
A third protester, 34-year-old Katherine Stone, was arrested for allegedly trying to graffiti the same police car, according to Daily News.
MEMPHIS DISBANDS POLICE UNIT
The US city of Memphis has disbanded the special police unit whose officers fatally beat Nichols, after graphic video of the assault sparked international shock and outrage.
The video, which shows five officers repeatedly kicking and punching the black man as he moans and calls out for his mother, triggered calls for police reform and sparked protests around the US.
The Memphis Police Department announced it had deactivated the officers’ special unit, known as SCORPION, which was launched in 2021 to reduce illegal activity by assigning more police to high-crime areas.
The unit comprised three teams of about 30 officers who targeted violent offenders.
The department said in a statement it was “in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the SCORPION Unit,” which stands for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighbourhoods.
“The officers currently assigned to the unit agree unreservedly with this next step,” the statement added.
Several dozen demonstrators called for police reform as they gathered in the chilly rain in front of city hall shouting “No justice, no peace!” and carrying signs with slogans such as “Justice for Tyre Nichols.”
At one point, a police car ended up surrounded by a group of protesters, who directed their angry chants at the vehicle.
Memphis City Council member JB Smiley Jr addressed the crowd’s demands, speaking to protesters in the rain.
“Memphis has an opportunity to set the standard on how to respond to actions like this,” he told them.
The five Memphis officers, who are all black, were charged with second-degree murder in the beating of Nichols, who died in hospital on January 10 three days after being stopped on suspicion of reckless driving.
The lengthy video footage from police body cameras shows the group of officers detaining Nichols, attempting to take him down using a taser, then giving chase as he evades them.
Subsequent segments — the footage runs about an hour in total, and is audio-only in parts — show Nichols calling for his mother, and groaning as officers repeatedly assault him.
In addition to second-degree murder charges, the police officers are facing indictments for aggravated assault and aggravated kidnapping.
GRAPHIC BODYCAM VIDEO RUNS FOR AN HOUR
Distressing footage of the fatal police beating shows Nichols calling for his mother.
The incident has sent shockwaves around the world, and has been called the worst police assault since the Rodney King beating in 1991 that led to days of fatal riots in Los Angeles.
Five Memphis officers, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith, who are also all black, were charged with second-degree murder in the beating of Tyre Nichols, who died in hospital on January 10 three days after being stopped on suspicion of reckless driving.
The lengthy video footage from police body cameras shows a group of officers detaining Nichols, attempting to take him down with the use of a Taser, then giving chase as he evades them.
Subsequent segments – the footage runs about an hour in total, and is audio-only in parts — show Nichols crying out for his mother, and moaning as officers repeatedly kick and punch him.
“Mom, Mom”, he screamed as he is pinned to the ground by officers, pepper sprayed in the face, and assaulted.
An officer who arrived soon after the attack began is seen extending a baton and yelling: “‘I’m gonna baton the f*** out of him!”.
In another sickening scene, Mr Nichols is stood up as an officer punches him in the face.
He is later seen slumped over while handcuffed and the officers order him to sit up – they can also be heard making jokes and swearing.
In downtown Memphis, around 50 officers gathered at the central Martyrs Park to mark the video’s release, later blocking a main road as they marched and chanted “No Justice, No Peace” and “Say His Name: Tyre Nichols”.
The White House said that senior staff had briefed the mayors of more than a dozen cities, including Atlanta, Chicago and Philadelphia, on federal assistance for protests.
Rallies have already kicked off in New York’s Times Square, at the White House in Washington DC, Tennessee and Atlanta.
NICHOLS’ MOTHER REACTS
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis compared the video to footage of the Rodney King beating, which sparked days of riots in Los Angeles that left dozens dead.
“I was in law enforcement during the Rodney King incident, it’s very much aligned with that same type of behaviour,” Ms Davis said. “I would say it’s about the same, if not worse.”
As people gather to protest this evening, remember this.
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) January 28, 2023
Tyre Nichols would not want to be remembered by violence, destruction or riots. Here is how he’d want to be remembered. Share this video. Not the other one: pic.twitter.com/nOzAdb7fjq
US President Joe Biden said: “The footage that was released this evening will leave people justifiably outraged.”
He urged protesters to remain peaceful. “Those who seek justice should not resort to violence or destruction,” he said.
Police on horseback patrolled downtown Memphis, with the victim’s family and officials calling for demonstrations to be peaceful.
“I want to say to the five police officers that murdered my son, you disgraced your own families when you did this,” Mr Nichols’ mother RowVaughn Wells said at a press conference.
“They had beat him to a pulp,” she told CNN, sobbing as she described him in hospital.
“He had bruises all over. His head was swollen like a watermelon. His neck was bursting because of the swelling. I knew my son was gone.”
She told a media conference she heard the video was “horrific”.
“I’ve never seen the video, but what I’ve heard it’s very horrific, very horrific,” she said. “And any of you who have children, please don’t let them see it.”
“I still haven’t had time to grieve yet. I’m still dealing with the death of my son. This was not supposed to happen. My son was supposed to be with me today,” she said.
Ms Wells said she will always know that she will be with him because he had a tattoo of her name on his arm.
“My son loved me to death and I loved him to death, so this is very difficult for me,” she said.
“No mother should go through what I’m going through right now. No mother. To lose their child to the violent way that I lost my child.”
Tyre Nichols’ stepfather, Rodney Wells, told CNN that “one officer kicked him like he was kicking a football, a couple of times.”
“They have this little like stick, this metal thing that they pull out. They pull out — like an antenna. I saw them pull that out and started beating my son with it. And I saw officers hitting on him, I saw officers kicking him.”
Memphis police chief Cerelyn Davis said the graphic video shows Mr Nichols crying out for his mother.
“What I saw on this video was more of a groupthink sort of mentality. And no one took a step to intercept or intervene,” Ms Davis said.
“And that’s why the charges are as severe as they are.”
“This incident was heinous, reckless, and inhumane, and in the vein of transparency, when the video is released in the coming days, you will see this for yourselves. I expect you to feel what the Nichols family feels. I expect you to feel outrage in the disregard of basic human rights, as our police officers have taken an oath to do the opposite of what transpired on the video,” she said
President Biden, anticipating protests after the Memphis video’s release, called for calm, saying “outrage is understandable, but violence is never acceptable.”
The police officers were taken into custody following a rapid internal investigation that found them to have deployed excessive use of force and to have failed to render aid.
In addition to second-degree murder charges, the officers are also facing indictments for aggravated assault and aggravated kidnapping.
They were fired on January 20 after an administrative investigation found they had violated department policy on the use of force.
Four of the five were released from jail after posting bail, US media reported Friday, citing jail records.
Ms Wells accused police of initially trying to cover-up her son’s beating, coming to her door to say he had been arrested for drunk driving and pepper-sprayed and tasered after being hard to handcuff.
They said he was being treated by paramedics and would be taken to hospital but that she could not visit him.
Doctors called in the middle of the night to say he was in cardiac arrest and his kidneys were failing, and that she needed to visit as soon as possible.
A lawyer for one officer, Desmond Mills, said his client was innocent of second-degree murder.
“That requires that they prove that Mr. Mills acted with a reasonable degree of certainty … that his actions were certain to cause death. And that’s just simply not the case,” said Blake Ballin.
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