The city of Memphis on Wednesday will release up to 20 more hours of video related to the January police beating of Tyre Nichols, who died three days after the violent confrontation.
The city’s Chief Legal Officer, Jennifer Sink, confirmed during a council meeting on Tuesday that the footage would be made public. She also announced another Memphis police officer was fired in connection with the deadly arrest.
Nichols was pulled over on Jan. 7 in Memphis’ Hickory Hill neighborhood on allegations of reckless driving, which authorities say they haven’t substantiated.
Video released weeks after Nichols’ death directly contradicted officers’ version of events, sparking protests against police brutality in Memphis and beyond. It shows officers punching, tasing and kicking the father of one.
Sink said seven of the 13 Memphis police officers investigated after the violence have been fired, WREG reported.
That includes Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith, Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr., all of whom were criminally charged in connection with Nichols’ death. They are each facing counts of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.
Sink noted that the city is only now able to share the additional footage because an internal probe has been concluded. Last month, Shelby County prosecutor Steven Mulroy revealed the most notable aspect of the unreleased footage is the audio, which captures comments made in the wake of the beating and after an ambulance took Nichols to the hospital.
In the hours ahead of its anticipated release, the Department of Justice on Wednesday revealed it has launched an investigation into the Memphis Police Department’s use of force and a separate examination of specialized police units nationwide.
All five officers charged in Nichols’ death were members of the now-deactivated SCORPION unit, initially established to battle crime, auto theft and gang activity in the city.
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