Dozens of people protested this Friday (27.01.2023) in front of the White House after the images of the beating that several police officers gave to a young Afro-descendant, who died three days after the clash, were revealed.
Tyre Nichols, 29, died at a hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, after five police officers beat him over for an alleged traffic violation. The images – which show the beating and Nichols on the ground surrounded by several officers – provoked outrage among the American population, who came out to protest against police violence in the country.
Dozens of mostly young protesters gathered outside President Joe Biden’s residence, holding signs calling for “end police terror,” “justice for Tyre Nichols” and “jail the killer cops.”
Access to the White House was closed Friday night by federal and city security forces. Also, there was a large deployment of police patrols in one of the streets adjacent to Lafayette Park, located right in front of the White House.
Protests in other U.S. cities
At the same time, in Memphis, hundreds of people blocked traffic on a highway in the city on Friday night, shouting “no justice, no peace,” according to local media. Protest groups said they wanted to speak with the city’s mayor, Jim Strickland, and Police Department Chief Cerelyn Davis.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people also came out to protest in New York, Atlanta and Detroit. In New York, more than 100 people demonstrated in Times Square, in midtown Manhattan, according to local media.
Five of the officers who were involved in the beating of Nichols were fired from the police department and face a series of criminal charges in his death. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland vowed Friday that there will be an investigation and called for any protests over the incident to be peaceful.
The U.S. Police have been singled out by human rights organizations for using violence disproportionately toward the country’s black population.
Nearly one-third of all people killed by police in the United States in 2021 were people of African descent, despite being only 13 percent of the country’s population, according to Mapping Police Violence.
Authorities Release Videos of Police Beating of African-American People in U.S.
The authorities of Memphis (Tennessee, USA) The U.S. Department of Health and Prevention published a series of videos on Friday showing the beating that several police officers gave to African-American Tyre Nichols, who died earlier this month in a hospital after the encounter with the agents.
The most graphic video is the one captured by a surveillance camera on a lamppost, where you can see from above how the agents kicked, some of them in the head, and hit Nichols with a baton.
Three other recordings correspond to cameras that the agents had attached to their bodies: In one of them it is seen how Nichols is taken out of his vehicle by some policemen who try to mobilize him on the ground until the man manages to escape and runs away.
At that moment, the police request reinforcements to search for the young African-American.
Another video shows Nichols finally being captured by officers, who hit him several times with force, while the victim yells “mom, mom” and “give me a minute.”
In this recording you can hear how the troops insult the detainee while trying to mobilize him again.
Another of the recordings begins with somewhat confusing scenes in which there is a struggle. Then Nichols is handcuffed on the ground next to a police car and the arrival of an ambulance is appreciated.
Sensitive images
Video via YouTube: NBC News
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