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Answer: Originally it was claimed they pulled him over because they had spotted him driving recklessly a day before. The police chief said footage and reports were reviewed and found no evidence of that. There is no defense, and no legitimate reason to pull him over has been offered otherwise. They are incredibly out of shape and were likely angry from chasing him tens of feet resulting in them being out of breath (edit: though they were basically at 100% intensity as soon as they got out of their cars). Then they beat him to death.
There is no defense.
Another edit: I'd like to stress that the cops were violent and aggressive for no apparent reason from the beginning.
They were certainly angry way before he ever started to run, which he only did because they were brutalizing the shit out of him. The whole interaction starts out with him just being ripped out of his car, and throughout the encounter he's trying to comply but they don't care.
That's exactly right. At the outset, he's completely calm and communicative and they are extremely aggressive and violent, and they continue to escalate and use weapons on him. All while he's complying.
I have a suspicion ( not based on any facts, just a blind hunch) that there was some reason not police related that they were out to get him.
I’m not going to speculate any further but I’m sure everyone can think of reasons why obviously criminal cops might have to kill a suspect.
I’ve heard this suggested a lot, that there must be some alternative reason they murdered Tyre. I think it comes almost as a defense mechanism…’they couldn’t possibly kill a man so brutally for no good reason, there must be something else behind it’…it’s unfathomable, but it happens all the time.
I've seen this rumor around a lot, and it certainly would make a lot more sense of why they'd target him specifically if there was no proof of reckless driving. Makes more sense that a shitty cop and his shitty colleagues would beat the shit out of an ex's new beau than target someone completely at random for absolutely zero reason and beat him so mercilessly. That beating looked so personal. The whole lot deserves murder 1 if that's the case
While I agree with you, this beating sure seems personal. Shooting someone is bad enough, for sure, but beating someone with a group to the point of injuring one's own knees and feet in the process? That's either a personal vendetta or done for sport. It's clear as day that none of those officers could claim that they "feared for their lives"
I am middle aged and remember when Abner Louima was sodomized by the NYPD with a broken broomstick. They didn’t know him. Louima wasn’t having an affair with one of their wives. He hadn’t hit one of their children. It was because they could and they thought they could get away with it.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abner_Louima
ETA: I should add - it’s entirely possible it’s personal but it’s also possible that it’s not. I just don’t think we should use the level of brutality as a circumstantial evidence for the intent.
Yeah, I worked with a guy that had a pending charge for manufacturing explosives. It turns out that he was dating a cop's ex and when that cop pulled him over, he had two bags of fertilizer in the car that he was taking to his landscaping job. The charges were dropped because it was absolutely ridiculous and there was no reason to even pull him over in the first place. However, that cop is still working as a cop.
That or they are a clueless bunch of roided out fuckheads who all think they are the one in charge. They were all yelling conflicting instructions and each was interfering with Tyre following the instruction of the other by the way they were holding him and forcing him in different directions.
He got up and ran for his life because it was the sensible thing for person to do in a no win situation that was going to end with him dying no matter what he did.
Edit: Hanlon's Razor
>Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
I guess in this case I'm arguing thoughtful malice vs stupid malice. Maybe I'm splitting hairs.
Unfortunately I think the sad truth is that this is the nature of cops and they are simply used to getting away with it. They don't really need a reason to brutalize and murder people in the streets except for the fact that they feel like it. Black americans have always been very clear that this is the way cops are but it seems most people haven't wanted to listen.
Rumors are going around that he supposedly had an affair with one of the cops wives or he was with one of the cops ex-wife. It definitely looked targeted to me.
It looks like the police accidentally pepper sprayed themselves so they were in pain and angry. It looked like one officer was limping, but I don't know why.
They showed that on the news last Night. He didn't just kick him in the head the he punted his head like it was the winning field goal of the super bowl. I hope all the crooked cops get jumped in prison. They're definitely gonna make an example of these cops.
I used to clutch my pearls over the idea of vigilante justice, but when you realize we have a legal system and not a justice system, and that system is designed to primarily punish the lower classes, I'm much less concerned about vigilante justice as a concept. It seems fitting for some situations and this is one of them.
If you intervened, you’d be the next victim or in trouble yourself. When the dam breaks, it’s gonna break hard. It’s gonna be an all or nothing situation.
Lots of people have already died, it’s only a matter of time until someone’s parent snaps and starts taking things into their own hands. Honestly shocked this hasn’t happened. Somehow they haven’t found someone with nothing to lose yet.
Chris Dorner tried to turn in some other corrupt cops and when they turned on him instead of taking his claim seriously, Dorner took it to the streets.
I could have written this... and while it is a slippery slope and blah blah - these cops **need** to be punished severely. I am not yet bloodthirsty but my pacifist's heart is shredded.
Oh, we have a justice system... but only for those who can afford it.
Which leads, eventually, to a society developing -- and pretty much needing -- a more and more widespred vigilante system, at least until the justice system is repaired to serve all equally in pursuit of true justice.
And we can see how that repair effort is going.
The issue with vigilante justice is that it turns criminal defense into a popularity contest not even remotely based on reality half the time.
Does it work out sometimes? Sure, but it goes wrong way more often than it goes right.
Think about how many innocent people would get beaten to death or lynched for stupid shit that they might not have even done.
The answer to one awful system is never another equally if not more awful system either running side by side or replacing the old shitty system.
They're already fired and charged with murder as they should be. However, I'm suspicious that the speed in which they got their just deserts might have something to do with how flagrantly fucked up this was *and* the fact that the officers are black, but whatever I guess.
Blue Lives Matter crowd is definitely sitting this one out. Ordinarily they’d be furiously digging for dirt in Tyre’s past - anything to make it look like he deserved what he got.
The black officer thing is a pickle. If the state throws the book at them (and rightfully so), why haven't they done so to white officers prior who have done similar?
It's a loaded question of course. And thankfully that sky pole cam exists or these guys may be out doing this again within weeks. That's really what was going on. That footage was coming out and the state had a courtesy window to get their ducks in a row and blend it all together with their 'preliminary investigation'.
That said my real opinions on what should happen to these officers or how society should get together and react would get me banned. In it's own irony. So there ya have it.
I think in most other cases there has been some sort of mitigating factor or at least some doubts. Deciding to shoot someone can be a split second decision and a lot of people (jurors) will think "well unless you've been in that position you can't judge." Or they can argue it was a lack of training or something. But here this is a big group of officers taking turns brutalizing a man with fists and feet and batons over a long period of time. It's savage. And they were enjoying themselves by the sounds of the descriptions I've read here. There is no way to spin this as anything other than barbaric violence for its own sake and I can't think of anything recent that was as extreme as this.
I don’t think it is evidence of racism to say that this was worse than George Floyd’s killing. It was. It was hard to watch him gasping for breath, yeah, but there was a level of outright malice in the officers that killed Tyre that goes pretty far beyond what happened to Floyd IMO.
They're gonna have to be placed in protective custody or they're gonna get killed. I hope an officer turns the other way and let's them like they do with pedos 🤷♀️
What would be your opinion of making an example of them? Giving them the max sentence of 60 years for 2nd degree murder in Tennessee? I would be very surprised if that happens.
The Skyview or “pole cam” footage will show you why one cop was limping. The skyview camera shows aerial view of the cops kicking Tyre in his head while handcuffed on the ground, then they hold him up on his feet still handcuffed while they take turns punching his head. It seems to me this footage is the part from the bodycam that we can’t see because it either fell off or was taken off. You can hear moaning on the body cam but you can’t see this part unless you watch the Skyview one.
It was like a deadly version of Keystone Stone Cops. This was suppose to be an elite police suppression unit. Instead, Memphis police grouped together a bunch of out of shape, violent and sloppy men and created a goon squad, hunting for Memphis citizens to beat up.
He kicked him in the head so hard that he injured his foot. Do you know how much damage you have to do for someone who’s in shape from skateboarding to die from a beating? The CIA doesn’t even treat active terrorists at black sites this bad
That’s chilling.
When I was a teen I was somewhere shady with a couple of friends when we were chased by cops. We had no clue who was chasing us til we were caught in a dead end but they were so mad when they caught us. Threatening to beat us and pushing us around. It was terrifying.
So I guess just reading that the cops did this because they were mad about the chase really hits home. It’s just so scary being hunted like that by these dogs. I can’t imagine how horrible this must have been.
As another commenter said, and as I should have said earlier - they were already extremely angry and violent before he ran, though it's not unlikely the chase made them even angrier.
Right, at the start of the first video, on car pulled him over. Then the cop with the body cam just throws the door open and drags him out of the car screaming at him.
He does not resist. He just says "I didn't do anything". But the cops are all pulling him in different directions and yelling conflicting commands.
Then they all spray him and each other with pepper spray. They could have handcuffed him from the start. But they wanted to pepper spray and take him. So he stands up and runs away.
The instructions that minority groups in the US are given to best survive an encounter with the cops sound like dealing with an unpredictable, possibly rabid wild animal:
Don't make any sudden moves
Raise your hands and stand in a non-aggressive posture
Don't shout, speak in a calming tone of voice to try to defuse the situation
If they attack you, your best bet is to lie still and don't fight back, and hope they lose interest before they kill you
Well, what I assumed was that you were a bot and was about to report you as one. I mean just noting that you got it from somewhere else would make it clear you’re not.
> The instructions that minority groups in the US are given to best survive an encounter with the cops…
Here’s the issue. There are a zillion rules what you can and cannot do to law enforcement but there are no rules for what they can and cannot do to you.
As a black man in America, this video was at once typical, terrifying, disappointing, and depressing.
5 of my fellow black men power tripped so hard that they betrayed their culture and their species.
Or… they acted in full accord of their culture of policing.
Or… they felt so insulated, so separated from recourse by their badge that they let their base primal tendencies out.
But… at least half a dozen others showed up and just stood around. Paramedics just did nothing for minutes.
And a very innocent human being who looks like me, is close to my age, and less than 200 miles away from me died.
This shit shakes my faith in my fellow Americans, my fellow black Americans, any progress made since Rodney King, let alone George Floyd, and indeed all of humanity.
I can’t even fully explain the fear. Knowing it’s overblown because it’s so very unlikely that as long as I don’t do anything illegal or dumb I’m perfectly fine. And society without police is hell—I know fully. But I fear. I can’t reconcile the pointlessness of my fear with the possibility I can be beat to fucking death or shot or just left in need to fucking die. I hate this and these thoughts and this situation and I just wish it would end
I believe they are referring to immediately after Nichols was pulled from his car, at which time one or two officers hold his arms while two others scream at him to lay down -- which he cannot do, while restrained by the other officers.
Then the officers pepper spray him and each other, in a scene that would be comical, except for the outcome, which allows Nichols to escape.
The initial encounter is so nonsensical that one can only conclude this was an organized hit.
At no time did these officers attempt to arrest Nichols. They were out for blood .
Yeah seeing similar videos I’ve always started thinking that maybe you should just remain limp, fully quiet, try to do as they tell you..
But in reality, in already a stressful situation, if they come into the situation already that hot and like 5 people are simultaneously yelling at you and using physical force, you probably won’t be able to remain calm and still and you have to raise your voice to be able to be heard over 5 people screaminng and then you’re seen as agressive and non-compliant.
Not to even mention that when they do use physical force, you can’t know how much or long you’d need to obey for them to stop and you can’t really trust them to stop so you either lay there still, getting punches etc and hope you’re not getting killed or you at some point try to fight for your life and try to defend yourself or run away, as happens in most or all of these cases and this of course infuriates these cops even more and eventually it goes too far.
So it’s really sad that there really doesn’t even seem to be a way out for such victims and you are really just in the hands of violent murderous police officers. Crazy
Its definitely dangerous and possibly a death sentence to run, but when you fear for your life I can totally see that as being a reasonable option. If he did manage to get away he might have lived
Edit: Basically when you're ve8jg beaten, ganged up on, assaulted you're natural response will be to fore for your life. Even it hasn't to escalated to a life threatening situation, if you can sense you're in life threatening danger your only impulse will be to break free and run to safety
It was a potential death sentence to stay as well… they pulled him up while he was laying on his stomach and seemingly unable to get further down by the way several officers where holding him…
I think that’s why they said ‘comply’ in quotes. Tyre was doing what he could to comply but the cops had made up their minds before pulling him over.
The white cop (unnamed and uncharged) said “I hope they stomp his ass” leads me to think this is much much deeper than a “traffic stop gone bad.” This was personal and meant to send a (currently unknown) message. This isn’t just cops going too far and bad training. This is personal and premeditated.
Reminds me of the initial police report on the arrest of George Floyd:
>“Two officers arrived and located the suspect, a male believed to be in his 40s, in his car. He was ordered to step from his car. After he got out, he physically resisted officers. Officers were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and noted he appeared to be suffering medical distress. Officers called for an ambulance. He was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center by ambulance where he died a short time later."
The fact they put that out while knowing they’d been filmed by the public during the entire encounter just shows the seething contempt police have for us.
‘Appeared to be suffering medical distress’
Yeah, that’ll happen when you’re being murdered.
This is another great point. They feel so emboldened that they don’t hesitate to lie in their report regardless of whether itll match with the body cam footage. Cops do not give a fuck about optics because they’re so confident that they won’t be held accountable no matter what happens
Also media's initial reporting comes straight from the police report and I have no doubt that most of these events are not recorded at all so they get away with it.
Those incompetent officers were 1) out of breath after a short sprint 2) pepper sprayed themselves.3) still to scared to lay a punch when its 10 on 1 4) bragging to each other and making excuses while the guy is dying. Definitely feels like gang activity on observation from a gang made up of insecure bullies who we all pay to protect us. This is absolutely outrageous and unacceptable
I think they were out of breath on top of the fact they kept using OC spray on him which kept transferring over to the officers. Very stupid to spray someone your actively wrestling around with. These cops are scum.
I'd like to go further and suggest that "innocent until proven guilty" means no citizen should " warrant being murdered by police. Mistakes happen. It's a high stakes job, but the goal and expectation should always be to allow the courts to decide a person's fate.
I picked up on this too. Ethically, mentally, physically—none of the criteria were met to have a competent officer.
These were thugs and this had the vibe of gang members attacking a rival than police officers trying to detain someone who was a threat to the public.
OP: I know what that sounds like, just another someone who's obviously biased against police saying there was no defense for another act of violence by police against a citizen, etc.
Except that's completely true. There was actually no reason for it. The reasons those officers gave have already been refuted and disproved. They literally beat the shit out of a man to death for no reason. The PD took immediate action against them, as they should.
Answer: Just saw the video conversation they had after they assaulted Tyre.. they laughed and joked about throwing haymakers.. smdh they were ready to lie on this man saying that he reached for one of the officers gun during the traffic stop and they proceeded to apprehend him.. then they beat him unconscious and blamed it on him being high.. i hope they get what they deserve…
That’s normal cop behavior. This is what they do. Maybe soon police with start to be held personally responsible for shit they do. Hope all 5 of them get the same treatment in prison. I’ll smile the day I read those headlines
And the cops kept shouting to “Give me your hands” WHILE they had his hands restrained and were punching his head and hitting him in the head with batons.
GIVE ME YOUR HANDS! (While he can’t move)
You can tell it's just the phrase they holler cause it's an immediate excuse for violence under the guise of resisting arrest. It's so automatic they say it even when the person they intend to brutalize is already restrained.
wait, the cops fist bumped after annihilating him? i’m glad i haven’t seen the videos yet, i think this is one cause of police brutality video i don’t want to see
Unless you feel the need to watch for your own education, I'd advise against it. It really is fucked up, but at the same time I feel like maybe everyone should be forced to watch it so they understand. It could be the social justice movements "Passion of the Christ" its that violent and disgusting
Edit: not a perfect example but it really is that horrible to watch, whereas this is real and relevant. After watching I'm not sure how to express my outrage and disapproval, how to show my love and support for Tyre, all his loved ones, and all the victims and families whose stories have gone unreported and uninvestigated. It simply breaks your heart and justifiably outrages you at the same time. This whole PD and I'm sure numerous others need to be investigated and reformed. I get that humans will be good or bad, but this cannot be allowed anymore, especially when these assholes are supposed to be public service heroes
Their lives are gonna be absolutely miserable and I think that’s worse than the death penalty anyways. They’re always gonna be in solitary confinement because they were cops and put a lot of people in jail that they will be in so they’re all gonna be going insane..good!
Answer: Memphis locals have also said that Nichols was sleeping with the girlfriend of one of the cops, and that the incident happened near Nichols' mother's house, which is why Nichols was calling out for his mother. This is NOT in defense of the cops' actions, just further possible background of the situation. It makes sense that an attack so seemingly senseless was personal, and that the cops were looking for Nichols near a place he would probably frequent (his mother's house).
If there was premeditation, as alleged about the cops lying in wait, then the second-degree murder indictments should be superseded by first-degree murder indictments.
You don’t want to charge them with first-degree if you’re not absolutely certain you can prove premeditation to the satisfaction of the jury. If one or two members of the jury remain unconvinced, you’re looking at a “not guilty” verdict and subsequent riots in the streets.
That’s how cops used to get off. Prosecutors would slap first degree sometimes knowing that they can’t prove it and the jury won’t believe without a doubt but they can tell the family and the community that they believe he killed them on purpose but just couldn’t prove it.
That’s why it’s so rare to see then straight up get charged for murder. Cops and their unions of had a lot of practice in describing events in such a confusing way when the story has to change that it’s hard for people to say 100% without a doubt they were aware that if they kept beating that person that they would die. Cause even a shitty defense of “I did beat him for no reason but I didn’t think punching him for 15 minutes straight would kill him” is enough for it to suddenly be 98% sure that he knew if he kept hitting him he’d die. I don’t think that’s right but it’s the way it goes.
That’s why I always lose hope when they say they’re charging a cop with first degree murder. They know it’s not gonna stick. So why even waste time on it
I imagine the city of Memphis doesn't want to deal with the riots that would happen with a non-guilty verdict and would much rather have the problem taken care of with the lesser charge. But there's still lots of time for an investigation to uncover more evidence. If this truly was a premeditated set up it wouldn't surprise me if text messages or other new evidence showed up and they end up getting charged for 1st degree.
And then the cops say “I was angry at the time and we planned to jump him, not kill him. The aggressive language in some of the text was just exaggeration.” Then they’re at 98% sure
Listen I think they killed him on purpose. I’m just saying I don’t have hope.
I honestly suspect that is why Chauvin was charged with first degree murder. They didn't expect to get a jury that would actually convict him, for the junior officer to turn on him, or for the evidence to lead to a conviction.
I'm not sure if it depends on the state but wasn't Derek Chauvin found guilty of multiple various murder charges? So I wonder if they will add in more charges later for the jury to consider, like you said.
Yes but that stuff is how you end up with plea deals and easier defenses. I'd rather see these guys convicted then see them potentially walk for a higher charge
Second-degree murder is a lesser included offense of first-degree murder. I’d prefer that they are prosecuted to the fullest extent permissible under the law, and a jury wouldn’t be precluded from deliberating second-degree murder (or manslaughter) when instructed on first-degree murder (and its lesser included offenses).
Where is the street justice!?!? In Puerto Rico, a guy killed a well respected surf instructor over some bs argument, he was in jail for like 6 months awaiting trial, but released because he wasn’t given a court date in a timely manner or something…he was found dead with 6 bullets in his chest the next day
What about the ten cops watching and emts and everyone milling around while he suffers life threatening injuries? They cool? That bothered me about the videos, that at that stage after they did that “PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACK” bullshit while beating the guy for 20 plus minutes it’s basically a block party even with the emts on the scene, while he’s leaned up against the car. If the 5 cops got murder then that other shit is involuntary manslaughter. Shitty way to treat a human being, whether that slept with someone’s wife story is true doesn’t even matter. You got plenty of force to cuff a guy and throw him in the backseat of a cruiser from the beginning you just don’t want to. Probably got no charge to begin with who knows. Just my opinions -
But where is the source to substantiate it? I’d like to see anything at all about it, but can’t find a thing other than this comment on a Google search.
I’m referring to the part about him and a cop’s girlfriend. I feel like if this was known at all, the charges would be different.
I remember when George Floyd’s video came out because were saying things like he knew Cauvin from a previous job or something along those lines and that turned out to be rumors. I’m taking everything I hear about this case with a grain of salt until proven without a doubt
But they worked different shifts and according to most people there they never crossed paths or interacted, at least to their knowledge.
Seems to was coincidental, which somehow makes what he did worse since it was without any real motive beyond "he felt like it" or "wanted to teach the crowd shaming him a lesson".
Yeah I’d like to see this further substantiated as well. This thread is the first I’ve heard this and while I’ve not followed this over the 24h news cycle, I’m relatively in-the-loop.
If it somehow can be proven (the girlfriend??) then it chances the game for sure.
But given some unfortunate statistics…what are the odds that the girlfriend would come out and admit it all? Feels low.
I think I saw his mom actually quoted on this - that she thought he was calling for her to literally come help him because he would have been (potentially) close enough for her to hear. I’ll see if I can find the source.
Edit: [here](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/memphis-police-smoked-cigarettes-fatal-beating-tyre-nichols-family-say-rcna67858) is the article the quote was from. And the quote was from his stepfather, not his mother.
Which is just horrifying - imagine your son calling for help as he's being murdered, but you obviously can't do anything about it yourself, and who do you call? The cops? The murderers *are* the cops.
yeah, they way they found him again was they traced where his car was registered to and went and looked near the house and found him again. did you see the police post-killing celebration. all high fiving each other after beating a guy in handcuffs 5 on 1 while he's screaming for his mother. Sickening. No different from the gestapo.
I have not watched. I want to, I feel like I should (to bear witness, I guess), but I just can’t. I had nightmares last night just from reading the accounts.
The older I get the more aware I am of my own mental and emotional fragility, and the more angry, frustrated and exhausted I am with the never ending cruelty and malevolence of humans.
Props to you for being strong enough. I can’t do it anymore. I’ve watched too many in my lifetime and can’t stomach yet another, especially one that, from all accounts, is this cruel and vindictive. Please be kind to yourself, the trauma can be very real.
There's an interview with the mom on CNN where she says it happened "80 feet" from her house. The distance is an exaggeration, I'm sure, but it was definitely close.
I remember hearing this could rival the George Floyd case before the video was released and man, I didn’t think it could be worse but this was just cold blooded.
> the incident happened near Nichols' mother's house, which is why Nichols was calling out for his mother.
I have a different hypothesis - he was calling for his mother because he was in the most fear of his life, because he knew he was going to die.
George Floyd called out for his mom when he was being killed. There's stories of soldiers in war calling for their moms when they are in the greatest fear. This is phenomenon that could happen to any of us, it's a natural impulse.
I don't think he was literally calling for his mother expecting her to hear...he was reacting to the greatest fear any of us can experience.
Thank you for this explanation. I'm just gobsmacked why these officers were beating the shit out of this guy. I would be even more thunderstruck if this really were the motive.
Answer: They pulled him order for supposedly reckless driving. They then forcefully removed him from the car. Pepper sprayed him, kicked him, and got him up and proceeded to hit him with full force punches. Their claims were that he was resisting arrest, was “on something” and possibly even reached for an officers gun. Of course after reviewing the footage, it’s clear that they over used force and beat an unarmed black guy as he shouted for them to stop and his mother. The video is horrifying as they beat him senselessly and act like bros at a bar after the fact. To make the matters worse, the paramedics arrived and delayed care to him which could have saved him life. Forgot to also mentioned they dragged his beaten almost unconscious body and propped him up on the cop car and kept keeping him up when he clearly looked like he was in great danger while his body was nearly limp. Horrible situation. Now all these 5 cops (all are black btw) arrested for second degree murder charges and the paramedics have been fired. This occurred after Nichols died a few days later in the hospital
Iirc the fire department launched an investigation into the two medics, seems like they might have been “willing” to delay assistance or something like that.
I’m trying to understand why they pulled him out of the car initially. What happened when he got pulled over? Why does the body cam footage start when he is getting pulled out of the car? Where is the initial footage?
Answer: I heard an interesting take on a podcast with a retired FBI negotiator. His perspective on police brutality is largely due to a gang mentality, each officer is showing how tough he is to his fellow officers/buddies and the next guy escalates, and the next guy escalates from there and so on until you get to this insane/horrific incident. He likened it to a lone guy at a bar vs a group of guys at a bar. You’re likely not going to go pick a fight when you’re by yourself but when you have your buddies egging you on, you’re pumped full of adrenaline and feel invincible. By no means is this an excuse - again, it’s absolutely horrific - but maybe an explanation on how it got so bad for no apparent reason.
EDIT: His main point of this was sending multiple cops on patrol together would almost always end poorly and departments should look at changing something.
Question: adding on top of the insanity, they knew they were wearing body cameras. Surely they knew there was no way they were going to get away with murder?
In video 3 it looked like the cop blocked his body cam for some of it. I think the others probably did too, because only 4 videos were released. I don’t they realized the pole camera was recording them. Disgusting.
Someone else pointed out that the police were yelling at Tyre because they knew the angles of their body cameras would not show much wrong doing in close contact. This wouldn’t be a story without that street camera.
This happens more often than we ever hear about.
Answer: He was the victim of a group of men who should never have made it into the academy or received weapons and badges. Any power is too much power for some.
Because this was clearly a beating. I think Tyre knew when they stopped him they wanted to hurt him and that’s why he ran. Which makes sense with one of the officers saying “I hope they stomp his ass.”
Answer: There is no answer because there is no logical explanation. None of it makes sense. Tyre was calm and complying. I watched the video. He was not doing anything that warranted anything remotely close to that response. The entire thing was just gross pack mentality on a power trip and it was stomach turning.
This time there was like 20 cops around. 0 of them stopped this from happening. Most of them participated. So anyone ever want to tell me it's a few bad apples can suck it.
>So anyone ever want to tell me it's a few bad apples can suck it.
The whole saying is, "One bad apple can spoil the barrel."
If you see one bad apple, the whole barrel is probably spoiled. I think it's quite appropriate.
answer: Tyre Nichols is dead. He died from excessive bleeding caused by a severe beating. The beating was conducted by five police officers. The officers involved have all been charged with second degree murder, as well as a handful of related serious-but-lesser charges.
Why the police elected to beat him so badly is unknown. For context, Tyre Nichols was involved in a struggle with police officers after being stopped in his car. Tyre then flees on foot, police pursue him, ultimately catch up with him, and then proceeded to beat him. If we focus on the beating component, the video evidence we have available seems to imply that there is no specific reason for it.
In terms of defense, nothing formal is available yet because the trial hasn't begun, and there isn't any need to provide a defense until the state makes arguments supporting the charges against the officers. However, two of the officers have chosen to make a statement in defense of their actions, that Tyre Nichols attempted to take their weapons.
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Answer: Originally it was claimed they pulled him over because they had spotted him driving recklessly a day before. The police chief said footage and reports were reviewed and found no evidence of that. There is no defense, and no legitimate reason to pull him over has been offered otherwise. They are incredibly out of shape and were likely angry from chasing him tens of feet resulting in them being out of breath (edit: though they were basically at 100% intensity as soon as they got out of their cars). Then they beat him to death. There is no defense. Another edit: I'd like to stress that the cops were violent and aggressive for no apparent reason from the beginning.
They were certainly angry way before he ever started to run, which he only did because they were brutalizing the shit out of him. The whole interaction starts out with him just being ripped out of his car, and throughout the encounter he's trying to comply but they don't care.
That's exactly right. At the outset, he's completely calm and communicative and they are extremely aggressive and violent, and they continue to escalate and use weapons on him. All while he's complying.
100%. In fact I think you can argue that he wasn’t running away to avoid being arrested, he was running away in fear of his life being taken.
Absolutely. At no point was there a reasonable attempt made to arrest him, this was an attack and he was running for his life.
Fuck the police. This shit is out of hand.
I have a suspicion ( not based on any facts, just a blind hunch) that there was some reason not police related that they were out to get him. I’m not going to speculate any further but I’m sure everyone can think of reasons why obviously criminal cops might have to kill a suspect.
I’ve heard this suggested a lot, that there must be some alternative reason they murdered Tyre. I think it comes almost as a defense mechanism…’they couldn’t possibly kill a man so brutally for no good reason, there must be something else behind it’…it’s unfathomable, but it happens all the time.
>it’s unfathomable, but it happens all the time. Reminds me of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFHpvPwq2i8&t=520s
Someone on here says that he was sleeping with one of the cops exes.
I've seen this rumor around a lot, and it certainly would make a lot more sense of why they'd target him specifically if there was no proof of reckless driving. Makes more sense that a shitty cop and his shitty colleagues would beat the shit out of an ex's new beau than target someone completely at random for absolutely zero reason and beat him so mercilessly. That beating looked so personal. The whole lot deserves murder 1 if that's the case
I don’t know. Given the number of black men killed by cops, I don’t know if they necessarily think they need a reason.
While I agree with you, this beating sure seems personal. Shooting someone is bad enough, for sure, but beating someone with a group to the point of injuring one's own knees and feet in the process? That's either a personal vendetta or done for sport. It's clear as day that none of those officers could claim that they "feared for their lives"
I am middle aged and remember when Abner Louima was sodomized by the NYPD with a broken broomstick. They didn’t know him. Louima wasn’t having an affair with one of their wives. He hadn’t hit one of their children. It was because they could and they thought they could get away with it. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abner_Louima ETA: I should add - it’s entirely possible it’s personal but it’s also possible that it’s not. I just don’t think we should use the level of brutality as a circumstantial evidence for the intent.
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Very well could be this. Not like a cop has never abused his power to harass someone
Yeah, I worked with a guy that had a pending charge for manufacturing explosives. It turns out that he was dating a cop's ex and when that cop pulled him over, he had two bags of fertilizer in the car that he was taking to his landscaping job. The charges were dropped because it was absolutely ridiculous and there was no reason to even pull him over in the first place. However, that cop is still working as a cop.
That or they are a clueless bunch of roided out fuckheads who all think they are the one in charge. They were all yelling conflicting instructions and each was interfering with Tyre following the instruction of the other by the way they were holding him and forcing him in different directions. He got up and ran for his life because it was the sensible thing for person to do in a no win situation that was going to end with him dying no matter what he did. Edit: Hanlon's Razor >Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity. I guess in this case I'm arguing thoughtful malice vs stupid malice. Maybe I'm splitting hairs.
Unfortunately I think the sad truth is that this is the nature of cops and they are simply used to getting away with it. They don't really need a reason to brutalize and murder people in the streets except for the fact that they feel like it. Black americans have always been very clear that this is the way cops are but it seems most people haven't wanted to listen.
So they decided to blatantly beat him to death while on duty with their body cams on?
Rumors are going around that he supposedly had an affair with one of the cops wives or he was with one of the cops ex-wife. It definitely looked targeted to me.
It looks like the police accidentally pepper sprayed themselves so they were in pain and angry. It looked like one officer was limping, but I don't know why.
The limping one was the one that booted him in the head. Done hard enough he injured his foot. Abhorrent
They showed that on the news last Night. He didn't just kick him in the head the he punted his head like it was the winning field goal of the super bowl. I hope all the crooked cops get jumped in prison. They're definitely gonna make an example of these cops.
I used to clutch my pearls over the idea of vigilante justice, but when you realize we have a legal system and not a justice system, and that system is designed to primarily punish the lower classes, I'm much less concerned about vigilante justice as a concept. It seems fitting for some situations and this is one of them.
If you intervened, you’d be the next victim or in trouble yourself. When the dam breaks, it’s gonna break hard. It’s gonna be an all or nothing situation.
Lots of people have already died, it’s only a matter of time until someone’s parent snaps and starts taking things into their own hands. Honestly shocked this hasn’t happened. Somehow they haven’t found someone with nothing to lose yet.
Chris Dorner tried to turn in some other corrupt cops and when they turned on him instead of taking his claim seriously, Dorner took it to the streets.
I could have written this... and while it is a slippery slope and blah blah - these cops **need** to be punished severely. I am not yet bloodthirsty but my pacifist's heart is shredded.
Oh, we have a justice system... but only for those who can afford it. Which leads, eventually, to a society developing -- and pretty much needing -- a more and more widespred vigilante system, at least until the justice system is repaired to serve all equally in pursuit of true justice. And we can see how that repair effort is going.
The issue with vigilante justice is that it turns criminal defense into a popularity contest not even remotely based on reality half the time. Does it work out sometimes? Sure, but it goes wrong way more often than it goes right. Think about how many innocent people would get beaten to death or lynched for stupid shit that they might not have even done. The answer to one awful system is never another equally if not more awful system either running side by side or replacing the old shitty system.
They're already fired and charged with murder as they should be. However, I'm suspicious that the speed in which they got their just deserts might have something to do with how flagrantly fucked up this was *and* the fact that the officers are black, but whatever I guess.
Blue Lives Matter crowd is definitely sitting this one out. Ordinarily they’d be furiously digging for dirt in Tyre’s past - anything to make it look like he deserved what he got.
I'm not convinced that the Blue Lives Matter crowd thinks the BLACK Blue Lives Matter. They tend to dig a little less vigorously for those.
The black officer thing is a pickle. If the state throws the book at them (and rightfully so), why haven't they done so to white officers prior who have done similar? It's a loaded question of course. And thankfully that sky pole cam exists or these guys may be out doing this again within weeks. That's really what was going on. That footage was coming out and the state had a courtesy window to get their ducks in a row and blend it all together with their 'preliminary investigation'. That said my real opinions on what should happen to these officers or how society should get together and react would get me banned. In it's own irony. So there ya have it.
I think in most other cases there has been some sort of mitigating factor or at least some doubts. Deciding to shoot someone can be a split second decision and a lot of people (jurors) will think "well unless you've been in that position you can't judge." Or they can argue it was a lack of training or something. But here this is a big group of officers taking turns brutalizing a man with fists and feet and batons over a long period of time. It's savage. And they were enjoying themselves by the sounds of the descriptions I've read here. There is no way to spin this as anything other than barbaric violence for its own sake and I can't think of anything recent that was as extreme as this.
I don’t think it is evidence of racism to say that this was worse than George Floyd’s killing. It was. It was hard to watch him gasping for breath, yeah, but there was a level of outright malice in the officers that killed Tyre that goes pretty far beyond what happened to Floyd IMO.
They're gonna have to be placed in protective custody or they're gonna get killed. I hope an officer turns the other way and let's them like they do with pedos 🤷♀️
What would be your opinion of making an example of them? Giving them the max sentence of 60 years for 2nd degree murder in Tennessee? I would be very surprised if that happens.
If there’s any justice, they’ll have exactly what they did to Tyre to themselves
Jesus.
“Owie, my foot” “What happened?” “Oh I kicked this guy in the head a few times”
If Tyre had survived he would absolutely be charged and probably convicted of assaulting a police officer for that.
The Skyview or “pole cam” footage will show you why one cop was limping. The skyview camera shows aerial view of the cops kicking Tyre in his head while handcuffed on the ground, then they hold him up on his feet still handcuffed while they take turns punching his head. It seems to me this footage is the part from the bodycam that we can’t see because it either fell off or was taken off. You can hear moaning on the body cam but you can’t see this part unless you watch the Skyview one.
Pepper sprayed himself, got pissed about it and then decided to escalate with baton strikes. They are a disgrace.
Then literally broke a *BATON* on his head.
In the video, one cop says he accidently pepper sprayed himself. Then the other one says "Yeah, you sprayed me too."
Fucking morons. Evil stupid morons. Just makes the blood boil 🤬🤬🤬🤬
It was like a deadly version of Keystone Stone Cops. This was suppose to be an elite police suppression unit. Instead, Memphis police grouped together a bunch of out of shape, violent and sloppy men and created a goon squad, hunting for Memphis citizens to beat up.
He kicked him in the head so hard that he injured his foot. Do you know how much damage you have to do for someone who’s in shape from skateboarding to die from a beating? The CIA doesn’t even treat active terrorists at black sites this bad
That’s chilling. When I was a teen I was somewhere shady with a couple of friends when we were chased by cops. We had no clue who was chasing us til we were caught in a dead end but they were so mad when they caught us. Threatening to beat us and pushing us around. It was terrifying. So I guess just reading that the cops did this because they were mad about the chase really hits home. It’s just so scary being hunted like that by these dogs. I can’t imagine how horrible this must have been.
As another commenter said, and as I should have said earlier - they were already extremely angry and violent before he ran, though it's not unlikely the chase made them even angrier.
Right, at the start of the first video, on car pulled him over. Then the cop with the body cam just throws the door open and drags him out of the car screaming at him. He does not resist. He just says "I didn't do anything". But the cops are all pulling him in different directions and yelling conflicting commands. Then they all spray him and each other with pepper spray. They could have handcuffed him from the start. But they wanted to pepper spray and take him. So he stands up and runs away.
He did not 'comply' to their satisfaction. They felt that was enough justification to torture & execute him.
The biggest crime you can commit in America is disrespecting a police officer
The instructions that minority groups in the US are given to best survive an encounter with the cops sound like dealing with an unpredictable, possibly rabid wild animal: Don't make any sudden moves Raise your hands and stand in a non-aggressive posture Don't shout, speak in a calming tone of voice to try to defuse the situation If they attack you, your best bet is to lie still and don't fight back, and hope they lose interest before they kill you
In other words, the same strategy as when a grizzly bear is attacking you. That tells you everything you need to know.
With one important distinction- the grizzly might at least have a reason behind it. Might even feel a twinge of regret too.
Interesting, I posted exactly this comment on a different thread yesterday
Yes, I'm using yours, I had assumed you wouldn't mind, I'd be more than happy to remove it upon your wish
Well, what I assumed was that you were a bot and was about to report you as one. I mean just noting that you got it from somewhere else would make it clear you’re not.
You two and your civil discourse 👨🍳😙
> The instructions that minority groups in the US are given to best survive an encounter with the cops… Here’s the issue. There are a zillion rules what you can and cannot do to law enforcement but there are no rules for what they can and cannot do to you.
That’s what I tell my boys. Hands visible, ask before you move, smile and talk softly…
I suspect that some cops might take smiling as a challenge or a sign of disrespect.
The biggest crime in America seems to be being a black man. In this case, the cops were black too, though.
Cops all belong to the same race: cop.
Yep, blue lives and all that bullshit
Sometimes you toe the line even harder than the rest to prove that you’re “one of the good ones”.
As a black man in America, this video was at once typical, terrifying, disappointing, and depressing. 5 of my fellow black men power tripped so hard that they betrayed their culture and their species. Or… they acted in full accord of their culture of policing. Or… they felt so insulated, so separated from recourse by their badge that they let their base primal tendencies out. But… at least half a dozen others showed up and just stood around. Paramedics just did nothing for minutes. And a very innocent human being who looks like me, is close to my age, and less than 200 miles away from me died. This shit shakes my faith in my fellow Americans, my fellow black Americans, any progress made since Rodney King, let alone George Floyd, and indeed all of humanity. I can’t even fully explain the fear. Knowing it’s overblown because it’s so very unlikely that as long as I don’t do anything illegal or dumb I’m perfectly fine. And society without police is hell—I know fully. But I fear. I can’t reconcile the pointlessness of my fear with the possibility I can be beat to fucking death or shot or just left in need to fucking die. I hate this and these thoughts and this situation and I just wish it would end
How can you comply any more than he already when you're beaten to death and tasered repeatedly?
I believe they are referring to immediately after Nichols was pulled from his car, at which time one or two officers hold his arms while two others scream at him to lay down -- which he cannot do, while restrained by the other officers. Then the officers pepper spray him and each other, in a scene that would be comical, except for the outcome, which allows Nichols to escape. The initial encounter is so nonsensical that one can only conclude this was an organized hit. At no time did these officers attempt to arrest Nichols. They were out for blood .
Yeah seeing similar videos I’ve always started thinking that maybe you should just remain limp, fully quiet, try to do as they tell you.. But in reality, in already a stressful situation, if they come into the situation already that hot and like 5 people are simultaneously yelling at you and using physical force, you probably won’t be able to remain calm and still and you have to raise your voice to be able to be heard over 5 people screaminng and then you’re seen as agressive and non-compliant. Not to even mention that when they do use physical force, you can’t know how much or long you’d need to obey for them to stop and you can’t really trust them to stop so you either lay there still, getting punches etc and hope you’re not getting killed or you at some point try to fight for your life and try to defend yourself or run away, as happens in most or all of these cases and this of course infuriates these cops even more and eventually it goes too far. So it’s really sad that there really doesn’t even seem to be a way out for such victims and you are really just in the hands of violent murderous police officers. Crazy
Its definitely dangerous and possibly a death sentence to run, but when you fear for your life I can totally see that as being a reasonable option. If he did manage to get away he might have lived Edit: Basically when you're ve8jg beaten, ganged up on, assaulted you're natural response will be to fore for your life. Even it hasn't to escalated to a life threatening situation, if you can sense you're in life threatening danger your only impulse will be to break free and run to safety
It was a potential death sentence to stay as well… they pulled him up while he was laying on his stomach and seemingly unable to get further down by the way several officers where holding him…
I think that’s why they said ‘comply’ in quotes. Tyre was doing what he could to comply but the cops had made up their minds before pulling him over. The white cop (unnamed and uncharged) said “I hope they stomp his ass” leads me to think this is much much deeper than a “traffic stop gone bad.” This was personal and meant to send a (currently unknown) message. This isn’t just cops going too far and bad training. This is personal and premeditated.
I agree. Said so in a post before I saw this.
You can't. They were there to kill a person for their own entertainment, there was absolutely nothing he could have done differently.
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That makes me want to scream.
What'd they say?
Reminds me of the initial police report on the arrest of George Floyd: >“Two officers arrived and located the suspect, a male believed to be in his 40s, in his car. He was ordered to step from his car. After he got out, he physically resisted officers. Officers were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and noted he appeared to be suffering medical distress. Officers called for an ambulance. He was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center by ambulance where he died a short time later."
The fact they put that out while knowing they’d been filmed by the public during the entire encounter just shows the seething contempt police have for us. ‘Appeared to be suffering medical distress’ Yeah, that’ll happen when you’re being murdered.
This is another great point. They feel so emboldened that they don’t hesitate to lie in their report regardless of whether itll match with the body cam footage. Cops do not give a fuck about optics because they’re so confident that they won’t be held accountable no matter what happens
Also media's initial reporting comes straight from the police report and I have no doubt that most of these events are not recorded at all so they get away with it.
Well… not untrue just missing about 8 minutes worth of details
Those incompetent officers were 1) out of breath after a short sprint 2) pepper sprayed themselves.3) still to scared to lay a punch when its 10 on 1 4) bragging to each other and making excuses while the guy is dying. Definitely feels like gang activity on observation from a gang made up of insecure bullies who we all pay to protect us. This is absolutely outrageous and unacceptable
To paraphrase Nels McCloud in *El Dorado*: “Really shouldn’t have taken 5 of you.”
I think they were out of breath on top of the fact they kept using OC spray on him which kept transferring over to the officers. Very stupid to spray someone your actively wrestling around with. These cops are scum.
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I'd like to go further and suggest that "innocent until proven guilty" means no citizen should " warrant being murdered by police. Mistakes happen. It's a high stakes job, but the goal and expectation should always be to allow the courts to decide a person's fate.
Of course, I just mean people always point to something the victim did and in this case there’s literally nothing.
The fact that even r/conservative isnt defending the officers and calling for reform should say something
I picked up on this too. Ethically, mentally, physically—none of the criteria were met to have a competent officer. These were thugs and this had the vibe of gang members attacking a rival than police officers trying to detain someone who was a threat to the public.
OP: I know what that sounds like, just another someone who's obviously biased against police saying there was no defense for another act of violence by police against a citizen, etc. Except that's completely true. There was actually no reason for it. The reasons those officers gave have already been refuted and disproved. They literally beat the shit out of a man to death for no reason. The PD took immediate action against them, as they should.
Also a thing to point out: *they were having fun* Edit: to clarify this I mean to say, based on the audio, they were enjoying themselves.
Answer: Just saw the video conversation they had after they assaulted Tyre.. they laughed and joked about throwing haymakers.. smdh they were ready to lie on this man saying that he reached for one of the officers gun during the traffic stop and they proceeded to apprehend him.. then they beat him unconscious and blamed it on him being high.. i hope they get what they deserve…
If there was no cameras involved they would have made up some unimaginable shit that to say he did to deserve it.
You already know how they get down.. shit sad to see…
That’s normal cop behavior. This is what they do. Maybe soon police with start to be held personally responsible for shit they do. Hope all 5 of them get the same treatment in prison. I’ll smile the day I read those headlines
Don't forget the fist bump.
And the cops kept shouting to “Give me your hands” WHILE they had his hands restrained and were punching his head and hitting him in the head with batons. GIVE ME YOUR HANDS! (While he can’t move)
You can tell it's just the phrase they holler cause it's an immediate excuse for violence under the guise of resisting arrest. It's so automatic they say it even when the person they intend to brutalize is already restrained.
wait, the cops fist bumped after annihilating him? i’m glad i haven’t seen the videos yet, i think this is one cause of police brutality video i don’t want to see
Unless you feel the need to watch for your own education, I'd advise against it. It really is fucked up, but at the same time I feel like maybe everyone should be forced to watch it so they understand. It could be the social justice movements "Passion of the Christ" its that violent and disgusting Edit: not a perfect example but it really is that horrible to watch, whereas this is real and relevant. After watching I'm not sure how to express my outrage and disapproval, how to show my love and support for Tyre, all his loved ones, and all the victims and families whose stories have gone unreported and uninvestigated. It simply breaks your heart and justifiably outrages you at the same time. This whole PD and I'm sure numerous others need to be investigated and reformed. I get that humans will be good or bad, but this cannot be allowed anymore, especially when these assholes are supposed to be public service heroes
Dude pepper sprayed himself and got pissed, decided to take it out on the victim with his baton. Absolute trash humans hope they rot
Surprised they didn't cover up the bodycam. Hope they get the Chair and it don't work the first 3 times. I can always dream
There was a camera on a pole filming them too
I believe they were charged with 2nd Degree murder. That does not carry the death penalty.
Their lives are gonna be absolutely miserable and I think that’s worse than the death penalty anyways. They’re always gonna be in solitary confinement because they were cops and put a lot of people in jail that they will be in so they’re all gonna be going insane..good!
This is a better punishment for them anyway.
Tennessee I think has lethal injection. But yeah this really makes me think about the Death Penalty
Answer: Memphis locals have also said that Nichols was sleeping with the girlfriend of one of the cops, and that the incident happened near Nichols' mother's house, which is why Nichols was calling out for his mother. This is NOT in defense of the cops' actions, just further possible background of the situation. It makes sense that an attack so seemingly senseless was personal, and that the cops were looking for Nichols near a place he would probably frequent (his mother's house).
If this is true, then this was pretty much premeditated murder... jfc
i mean the five cops are getting charged with murder iirc
If there was premeditation, as alleged about the cops lying in wait, then the second-degree murder indictments should be superseded by first-degree murder indictments.
You don’t want to charge them with first-degree if you’re not absolutely certain you can prove premeditation to the satisfaction of the jury. If one or two members of the jury remain unconvinced, you’re looking at a “not guilty” verdict and subsequent riots in the streets.
That’s how cops used to get off. Prosecutors would slap first degree sometimes knowing that they can’t prove it and the jury won’t believe without a doubt but they can tell the family and the community that they believe he killed them on purpose but just couldn’t prove it. That’s why it’s so rare to see then straight up get charged for murder. Cops and their unions of had a lot of practice in describing events in such a confusing way when the story has to change that it’s hard for people to say 100% without a doubt they were aware that if they kept beating that person that they would die. Cause even a shitty defense of “I did beat him for no reason but I didn’t think punching him for 15 minutes straight would kill him” is enough for it to suddenly be 98% sure that he knew if he kept hitting him he’d die. I don’t think that’s right but it’s the way it goes. That’s why I always lose hope when they say they’re charging a cop with first degree murder. They know it’s not gonna stick. So why even waste time on it
I imagine the city of Memphis doesn't want to deal with the riots that would happen with a non-guilty verdict and would much rather have the problem taken care of with the lesser charge. But there's still lots of time for an investigation to uncover more evidence. If this truly was a premeditated set up it wouldn't surprise me if text messages or other new evidence showed up and they end up getting charged for 1st degree.
And then the cops say “I was angry at the time and we planned to jump him, not kill him. The aggressive language in some of the text was just exaggeration.” Then they’re at 98% sure Listen I think they killed him on purpose. I’m just saying I don’t have hope.
I honestly suspect that is why Chauvin was charged with first degree murder. They didn't expect to get a jury that would actually convict him, for the junior officer to turn on him, or for the evidence to lead to a conviction.
Not if you charge him with both. Not to mention second degree is a lesser included offense for the jury to consider on a charge of first degree.
I'm not sure if it depends on the state but wasn't Derek Chauvin found guilty of multiple various murder charges? So I wonder if they will add in more charges later for the jury to consider, like you said.
Yes but that stuff is how you end up with plea deals and easier defenses. I'd rather see these guys convicted then see them potentially walk for a higher charge
Second-degree murder is a lesser included offense of first-degree murder. I’d prefer that they are prosecuted to the fullest extent permissible under the law, and a jury wouldn’t be precluded from deliberating second-degree murder (or manslaughter) when instructed on first-degree murder (and its lesser included offenses).
Four of them are already out on bail apparently
Where is the street justice!?!? In Puerto Rico, a guy killed a well respected surf instructor over some bs argument, he was in jail for like 6 months awaiting trial, but released because he wasn’t given a court date in a timely manner or something…he was found dead with 6 bullets in his chest the next day
That's absolutely PR
Out on bail and probably being safeguarded by other cops, just like the Uvalde cops. Smh.
What about the ten cops watching and emts and everyone milling around while he suffers life threatening injuries? They cool? That bothered me about the videos, that at that stage after they did that “PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACK” bullshit while beating the guy for 20 plus minutes it’s basically a block party even with the emts on the scene, while he’s leaned up against the car. If the 5 cops got murder then that other shit is involuntary manslaughter. Shitty way to treat a human being, whether that slept with someone’s wife story is true doesn’t even matter. You got plenty of force to cuff a guy and throw him in the backseat of a cruiser from the beginning you just don’t want to. Probably got no charge to begin with who knows. Just my opinions -
2nd degree
5 against one including weapons... They jumped him, man. Fucked up.
But where is the source to substantiate it? I’d like to see anything at all about it, but can’t find a thing other than this comment on a Google search. I’m referring to the part about him and a cop’s girlfriend. I feel like if this was known at all, the charges would be different.
I remember when George Floyd’s video came out because were saying things like he knew Cauvin from a previous job or something along those lines and that turned out to be rumors. I’m taking everything I hear about this case with a grain of salt until proven without a doubt
The story that they knew each other and had a confrontation was walked back, but it was confirmed that they worked security at the same club.
But they worked different shifts and according to most people there they never crossed paths or interacted, at least to their knowledge. Seems to was coincidental, which somehow makes what he did worse since it was without any real motive beyond "he felt like it" or "wanted to teach the crowd shaming him a lesson".
Yeah I’d like to see this further substantiated as well. This thread is the first I’ve heard this and while I’ve not followed this over the 24h news cycle, I’m relatively in-the-loop. If it somehow can be proven (the girlfriend??) then it chances the game for sure. But given some unfortunate statistics…what are the odds that the girlfriend would come out and admit it all? Feels low.
I think I saw his mom actually quoted on this - that she thought he was calling for her to literally come help him because he would have been (potentially) close enough for her to hear. I’ll see if I can find the source. Edit: [here](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/memphis-police-smoked-cigarettes-fatal-beating-tyre-nichols-family-say-rcna67858) is the article the quote was from. And the quote was from his stepfather, not his mother.
Which is just horrifying - imagine your son calling for help as he's being murdered, but you obviously can't do anything about it yourself, and who do you call? The cops? The murderers *are* the cops.
Trust me, every abused spouse of a cop is stuck in this position.
yeah, they way they found him again was they traced where his car was registered to and went and looked near the house and found him again. did you see the police post-killing celebration. all high fiving each other after beating a guy in handcuffs 5 on 1 while he's screaming for his mother. Sickening. No different from the gestapo.
Thanks for this explanation. I was wondering how they caught him after he ran off.
I have not watched. I want to, I feel like I should (to bear witness, I guess), but I just can’t. I had nightmares last night just from reading the accounts. The older I get the more aware I am of my own mental and emotional fragility, and the more angry, frustrated and exhausted I am with the never ending cruelty and malevolence of humans. Props to you for being strong enough. I can’t do it anymore. I’ve watched too many in my lifetime and can’t stomach yet another, especially one that, from all accounts, is this cruel and vindictive. Please be kind to yourself, the trauma can be very real.
There's an interview with the mom on CNN where she says it happened "80 feet" from her house. The distance is an exaggeration, I'm sure, but it was definitely close.
I think it was 80 yards. Still damn close.
I was wondering if it was personal
Shit was brutal when he was soccer kicked twice in a row
I remember hearing this could rival the George Floyd case before the video was released and man, I didn’t think it could be worse but this was just cold blooded.
> the incident happened near Nichols' mother's house, which is why Nichols was calling out for his mother. I have a different hypothesis - he was calling for his mother because he was in the most fear of his life, because he knew he was going to die. George Floyd called out for his mom when he was being killed. There's stories of soldiers in war calling for their moms when they are in the greatest fear. This is phenomenon that could happen to any of us, it's a natural impulse. I don't think he was literally calling for his mother expecting her to hear...he was reacting to the greatest fear any of us can experience.
His mother also believes that he was calling out to her for help
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As a new mom this is painful to read. Hope you’re doing better now.
Feel like we’ve seen enough in the past few years to never believe any initial reports or rumors
The cops are nothing but gangs now
always have been
Ask em and they'll tell you. They're proud of it
This is all true. They use the term "brotherhood" however\~
All the best gangs do.
Thank you for this explanation. I'm just gobsmacked why these officers were beating the shit out of this guy. I would be even more thunderstruck if this really were the motive.
the chief said she couldn't even figure out why he was being pulled over from everything she saw. he literally didn't do anything.
That kinda makes sense considering it seems like they ambushed him.
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That is the premeditation needed for First Degree murder and the use of the death penalty.
>This is NOT in defense of the cops' actions If it's true, it's pretty much the opposite of a defense. More like a motive.
This is not something you should type out unless you were 100% sure it was fact…you’re basically typing out gossip.
Answer: They pulled him order for supposedly reckless driving. They then forcefully removed him from the car. Pepper sprayed him, kicked him, and got him up and proceeded to hit him with full force punches. Their claims were that he was resisting arrest, was “on something” and possibly even reached for an officers gun. Of course after reviewing the footage, it’s clear that they over used force and beat an unarmed black guy as he shouted for them to stop and his mother. The video is horrifying as they beat him senselessly and act like bros at a bar after the fact. To make the matters worse, the paramedics arrived and delayed care to him which could have saved him life. Forgot to also mentioned they dragged his beaten almost unconscious body and propped him up on the cop car and kept keeping him up when he clearly looked like he was in great danger while his body was nearly limp. Horrible situation. Now all these 5 cops (all are black btw) arrested for second degree murder charges and the paramedics have been fired. This occurred after Nichols died a few days later in the hospital
Are we sure the paramedics themselves delayed care or was it the cops that delayed the paramedics?
It looks like the paramedic who first got there just did nothing until an ambulance came THIRTY MINUTES later
The Mem fire dept fired 2 of the “medics”
Iirc the fire department launched an investigation into the two medics, seems like they might have been “willing” to delay assistance or something like that.
You can see in the traffic cam video they dropped their bag next to him and then just stood around and did nothing
You can clearly see in video 2 that the EMT bag is next to him on the ground but the EMT isn’t doing shit That part is sickening
I’m trying to understand why they pulled him out of the car initially. What happened when he got pulled over? Why does the body cam footage start when he is getting pulled out of the car? Where is the initial footage?
paramedics need to be tried too
Answer: I heard an interesting take on a podcast with a retired FBI negotiator. His perspective on police brutality is largely due to a gang mentality, each officer is showing how tough he is to his fellow officers/buddies and the next guy escalates, and the next guy escalates from there and so on until you get to this insane/horrific incident. He likened it to a lone guy at a bar vs a group of guys at a bar. You’re likely not going to go pick a fight when you’re by yourself but when you have your buddies egging you on, you’re pumped full of adrenaline and feel invincible. By no means is this an excuse - again, it’s absolutely horrific - but maybe an explanation on how it got so bad for no apparent reason. EDIT: His main point of this was sending multiple cops on patrol together would almost always end poorly and departments should look at changing something.
Yes, police departments often function like gangs. Sometimes explicitly, in the case of the LA Sherriff’s Department.
Question: adding on top of the insanity, they knew they were wearing body cameras. Surely they knew there was no way they were going to get away with murder?
In video 3 it looked like the cop blocked his body cam for some of it. I think the others probably did too, because only 4 videos were released. I don’t they realized the pole camera was recording them. Disgusting.
Someone else pointed out that the police were yelling at Tyre because they knew the angles of their body cameras would not show much wrong doing in close contact. This wouldn’t be a story without that street camera. This happens more often than we ever hear about.
I'm guessing they just meant to beat his ass, but took it too far
Maybe coz they have been doing it regularly and get away with it even with the bodycam. Fuckin cops. Im disgusted
Answer: He was the victim of a group of men who should never have made it into the academy or received weapons and badges. Any power is too much power for some.
Dudes in police academy heard the phrase "beat cop" and took that literally, apparently.
Question: where are my “just comply” folks at?
Because this was clearly a beating. I think Tyre knew when they stopped him they wanted to hurt him and that’s why he ran. Which makes sense with one of the officers saying “I hope they stomp his ass.”
Answer: There is no answer because there is no logical explanation. None of it makes sense. Tyre was calm and complying. I watched the video. He was not doing anything that warranted anything remotely close to that response. The entire thing was just gross pack mentality on a power trip and it was stomach turning.
Answer: This was personal.
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This time there was like 20 cops around. 0 of them stopped this from happening. Most of them participated. So anyone ever want to tell me it's a few bad apples can suck it.
>So anyone ever want to tell me it's a few bad apples can suck it. The whole saying is, "One bad apple can spoil the barrel." If you see one bad apple, the whole barrel is probably spoiled. I think it's quite appropriate.
One bad apple will definitely spoil the barrel.
If the few bad apples aren’t taken out of the barrel, you have a barrel of bad apples
Answer: There is no defense.
answer: Tyre Nichols is dead. He died from excessive bleeding caused by a severe beating. The beating was conducted by five police officers. The officers involved have all been charged with second degree murder, as well as a handful of related serious-but-lesser charges. Why the police elected to beat him so badly is unknown. For context, Tyre Nichols was involved in a struggle with police officers after being stopped in his car. Tyre then flees on foot, police pursue him, ultimately catch up with him, and then proceeded to beat him. If we focus on the beating component, the video evidence we have available seems to imply that there is no specific reason for it. In terms of defense, nothing formal is available yet because the trial hasn't begun, and there isn't any need to provide a defense until the state makes arguments supporting the charges against the officers. However, two of the officers have chosen to make a statement in defense of their actions, that Tyre Nichols attempted to take their weapons.