Memphis Police Chief Says Tyre Nichols Video May Be ‘Worse’ Than Rodney King
‘INCOMPREHENSIBLE TO ME’
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis provided an ominous preview ahead of the release of body-cam footage showing five cops brutally beating 29-year-old Black man Tyre Nichols. The footage, set to be released at 6 p.m. local time Friday, is “about the same if not worse” than the footage of cops assaulting Rodney King in Los Angeles in 1991, she told CNN Friday. “I was outraged. It was incomprehensible to me. I don’t think I’ve witnessed anything of that nature in my entire career,” she said. Nichols was pulled over on Jan. 7 for reckless driving however police have not provided evidence of what he was supposedly doing. He sustained such horrific injures in the encounter that he died in hospital three days later. Five cops were charged Thursday with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression. Footage of the assault shows “acts that defy humanity,” Davis said. “You’re going to see... a level of physical interaction that is above and beyond what is required in law enforcement.”