Memphis (AFP) - The southern US city of Memphis braced itself for unrest Friday as authorities prepared to release a video depicting the fatal assault of a Black man by five police officers who, the victim's mother said, "beat him to a pulp."
The police officers, who are also Black, were charged with second-degree murder in the beating of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, who died in hospital on January 10, three days after being stopped on suspicion of reckless driving.
Police on horseback patrolled downtown Memphis ahead of expected protests, 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," Nichols's 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."
President Joe Biden spoke with Wells and Nichols's stepfather to express his condolences, telling them that he commended "the family's courage and strength," the White House said.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said the graphic video, which will be released after 6:00 pm Central time (0000 GMT Saturday), shows Nichols crying out for his mother.
Protests are planned in cities across the United States to mark the video's release, with police departments readying for possible unrest.
"What I saw on this video was more of a groupthink sort of mentality.And no one took a step to intercept or intervene," Davis said."And that's why the charges are as severe as they are."
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."
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that the administration was in coordination with "various agencies to ensure they prepare if the protests become violent."
Police brutality
Nichols's death at the hands of police 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.
Robert Walters, a 67-year-old blues musician visiting Memphis 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.
"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."
The five police officers involved in the 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.
Murder charge
Nichols's mother on Friday 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.
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.
