Arabnews24.ca:Friday 27 January 2023 08:17 PM: Memphis Police has released bodycam footage showing the moment Tyre Nichols calls for his mother as he was allegedly beaten by five officers before he died.
The force has released four separate videos cut into one hour-long clip.
Cerelyn Davis, the Memphis police chief, told reporters it was from "three different streams".
She said: "It's three different sources: body-worn camera, an actual source right there at the scene where the most physical you know abuse occurred and then two other body worn cameras from the officers at that same scene."
Ms Davies had earlier asked for calm before the video footage was made public.
"I expect you to feel what the Nichols family feels," she said. "I expect you to feel outrage in the disregard of basic human rights."
In the footage, one camera shows the initial police stop at an intersection.
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An officers shouts at him "get the f*** out the car" before Mr Nichols replies: "I didn't do anything."
An officer then yells at Mr Nichols to "get on the ground".
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Mr Nichols calmly replies: "Ok I'm on the ground."
He gets up and tries to get away before police Taser him.
Police then call for back-up as he runs away.
One police officer has pepper spray in his eyes so keeps pouring water over his face.
Footage from another camera shows police apprehend Mr Nichols and start beating him.
Mr Nichols is heard shouting for his mother while police attack him.
The father-of-one is then pepper sprayed and punched in the face.
Cities across the country braced for large demonstrations after the release of the video. Mr Nichols' relatives urged supporters to protest peacefully.
US President Joe Biden has said in a statement: "Like so many, I was outraged and deeply pained to see the horrific video of the beating that resulted in Tyre Nichols' death. It is yet another painful reminder of the profound fear and trauma, the pain, and the exhaustion that black and brown Americans experience every single day.
"My heart goes out to Tyre Nichols' family and to Americans in Memphis and across the country who are grieving this tremendously painful loss."
He added: "Violence is never acceptable; it is illegal and destructive. I join Mr. Nichols' family in calling for peaceful protest."
Mr Biden also said he spoke with Mr Nichols' mother RowVaughan Wells and his stepfather Rodney Wells.
He continued: "There are no words to describe the heartbreak and grief of losing a beloved child and young father. Nothing can bring Mr. Nichols back to his family and the Memphis community. But Mr and Mrs Wells, Mr Nichols' son, and his whole family deserve a swift, full, and transparent investigation."
Before it was made public, Mr Nichols's family said the "very horrific" footage showed officers savagely beating the FedEx worker for three minutes in an assault their lawyers likened to the Los Angeles police attack on motorist Rodney King in 1991.
Five sacked officers, who are all black, have been charged with second-degree murder and other crimes, including assault, kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression, over Mr Nichols's death.
Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who is representing his family, said when the public watches the footage they will see him calling out for his mother.
