Memphis (AFP) - The US city of Memphis was poised Friday to release graphic video footage depicting the fatal police assault of a 29-year-old Black man, as cities nationwide braced for a night of protests against police brutality.
Five Memphis officers, 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.
Addressing an emotional press conference, the victim's mother RowVaughn Wells called out the officers who she said beat her son "to a pulp," telling them: "You disgraced your own families when you did this."
President Joe Biden, who has joined local officials in calling for protests to remain peaceful, spoke with Wells Friday to offer his condolences and commend "the family's courage and strength."
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said the graphic video, set to be released after 6:00 pm Central time (0000 GMT Saturday), shows Nichols crying out for his mother.
"My heart just breaks," Wells told the news conference."For a mother to know that their child was calling them in their need, and I wasn't there for him."
The father of a four-year-old son, Nichols worked for FedEx, loved skateboarding and taking photos, and had a tattoo of his mother's name on his arm.
"My son was a beautiful soul," Wells said."He was a good boy.No one's perfect.But he was damn near it."
Police on horseback patrolled downtown Memphis Friday evening ahead of expected protests to mark the video's release, with authorities readying for possible unrest in cities across the United States -- from New York to Chicago and Atlanta.
Davis compared the video to footage of the 1991 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 behavior," Davis said."I would say it's about the same, if not worse."
Police brutality
Nichols's mother has 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 difficult to handcuff.
The young man's death drew immediate comparisons with the May 2020 killing of George Floyd, another Black man whose suffocation by a white police officer in Minneapolis was caught on film.
Video of Floyd's death spread rapidly, sparking a massive wave of at times violent protests nationwide and beyond, and reviving scrutiny of race relations and a culture of police brutality in the United States.
Police officer Derek Chauvin was consequently convicted of murder, in what was seen as a landmark case after he knelt on Floyd's neck for nearly 10 minutes.
At a Memphis skate park where Nichols was a local, flowers and candles were laid out beside signs demanding "Justice for Tyre."
Robert Walters, a 67-year-old blues musician visiting the city from Virginia, said he and his wife would return home early to avoid any violence.
"I'm a Black man living in America.And that fear is always something that me and my son, we grew up with and we live with," he told AFP, in reference to police brutality.
The five officers involved in Nichols's fatal beating 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.
Four of the five were released from jail after posting bail, US media reported Friday, citing jail records.
The fact the officers were themselves Black "hurts," Walters said.
"These guys, you'd think, of anybody, should know (better), but it just goes to show you that anybody can fall into that trap," he said.
"I just want people to just be calm and not do anything stupid, not destroy or hurt."
