Five Memphis Police Officers Charged and Jailed in African-American’s Death Investigation

Five police officers were charged and jailed Thursday for the death of an African-American in Memphis, Tennessee in January, following a “ghastly” arrest, authorities reported.

The incident took place on January 7, when police officers wanted to arrest Tire Nichols, a 29-year-old African-American, for a traffic violation.

After a confrontation with the police, Nichols was hit and took to the hospital, where he had difficulty breathing, eventually leading to his death three days later. Subsequently, US President Joe Biden has demanded in a statement a “prompt, complete and transparent investigation” of the case.

The five accused officers were charged with murder, assault and battery, as well as kidnapping. The police internal investigation showed that they used excessive force, which the Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis called “criminal” and “inadmissible.”

Lawyers for the family, including Ben Crump, welcomed the news, saying it “gives us hope as we continue to demand justice for Tyre.”

Senator David Rausch told that the details of the arrest are still not entirely clear, as videos of the events had only been shown to the victim’s neighbors and his lawyers, but it was decided that the footage should be published on Friday after 18:00 (00:00 GMT on Saturday).

President Biden also called for protests that can be unleashed to be “peaceful”, following the police violence the US has been facing since the death of George Floyd in 2020. He called on Congress to pass a law to reform the police.

At the moment, the case stands in an investigation wait as the public is expected to see the details of the arrest footage soon.