January 27, 2023 news on the death of Tyre Nichols | CNN (2024)

Editor’s note: This post contains graphic descriptions of violence.

City officials on Friday evening released more than an hour of footage showing the deadly confrontation between Tyre Nichols and Memphis police officers earlier this month.The released materials included three body camera videos and one overhead surveillance video.

The five officers involved in the arrest were fired after an internal investigation and arefacing criminal charges, including second-degree murder. Following the release of the video Friday night, two deputies with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office have been put on leave pending an investigation, Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. said in a statement.

According to the footage, the incident starts to unfolds from 8:24 p.m. CT, when officers initially stopped Nichols, to 9:02 p.m. CT, when an ambulance finally appearsoncamera to take Nichols to the hospital.

All times are approximate, but here’s a look at the timeline in the video:

There have been no arrests stemming from the protest that shut down the Interstate 55 bridge in Memphis, according to Memphis Police Department police spokesperson Louis Brownlee.

It’s estimated that there are less than 100 demonstrators, and they seem to be starting to disperse, Brownlee said.

There are no other demonstrations of note in Memphis as of now, Brownlee said.

Three demonstrators were arrested Friday night in Times Square, one of whom was seen jumping on the hood of a police vehicle and breaking the windshield, a spokesperson for the New York Police Department confirmed to CNN.

The person who allegedly broke the vehicles windshield was charged with criminal mischief. There were no further details related to the other two arrests.

Protests in New York City were largely peaceful despite the three arrests and some minor clashes between police and protesters in the city.

US Rep. Steve Cohen, who represents parts of Memphis, said the video of the beating of Tyre Nichols “is overwhelming to watch.”

Cohen posted a statementon TwitterFriday night after the video was released publicly saying, “It’s clear that Tyre Nichols died because of the brutality and callous disregard, really an appalling lack of humanity, of the Memphis police officers.

Cohen said he was shown the video before it was shared publicly.

“The ‘pack’ mentality of these officers was about inflicting vengeance with no regard for Tyre as a human being,” he said in the statement.

Governors across the country are reacting to video showing the deadly confrontation between Tyre Nichols and Memphis police. Many of them called for justice and accountability for the officers involved and urged peaceful protests.

Nichols probably died from internal injuries sustained from blunt force trauma, medical experts told CNN after watching the newly released videos of his traffic stop arrestFriday.

They said the body camera footage includes moments where the assault could have damaged a number of organs – including the liver, lungs or brain – and the damage to any of those could have been fatal.

Nichols died three days after the police encounter in the hospital.

Dr. Kendall Von Crowns, chief medical examiner in Tarrant County, Texas, noted that Nichols’ slim figure meant his organs were “millimeters under his skin surface,” without much padding or other protection from a physical assault.

“When these kicks come in, they’re hitting on what looks like the right side of his body,” he said. “So, you know, your liver is sitting on that side. So he could easily be taking almost direct blows to his liver, which could cause his liver to lacerate or rupture, and that would cause hemorrhage into his abdominal cavity. These could also cause fractures of his ribs on his right side that then could be displaced by subsequent kicks and cause tearing or lacerations of his lungs, which again, cause hemorrhage into his chest cavity.”

Internal hemorrhage could limit the amount of blood and oxygen that’s reaching the brain, he said, which could cause a person to become brain-dead before they die.

Dr. Victor Weedn, a forensic pathologist at George Washington University, said it is not typical for people to die from external blood loss after a beating.

He particularly noted the officers’ use of a baton, which would cause a more “focused” and powerful hit than a fist.

“Head trauma can cause death” from brain swelling and bleeding, Weedn said. “When the brain swells, it causes pressure, and it collapses the veins. When you collapse the veins, then you don’t have blood circulation, and you can die.”

CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta told CNN’s Erin Burnett that “the brain is the one organ in the body that doesn’t really have any room to swell, because it’s encased by the skull.”

“As a result, someone may slowly, increasingly lapse into unconsciousness, which seemed to be what was happening with Mr. Nichols,” he said.

Internal hemorrhaging can quickly become deadly.

Paramedics aren’t particularly equipped to help someone with internal injuries like these, Von Crowns said. The focus would have been getting him to the hospital for emergency surgery or transfusion as soon as possible.

The videos show that medical help arrived several minutes later, after Nichols had been propped up beside a car with his hands cuffed behind his back.

“A lot of lost time there, which is so critically important, with somebody who is essentially critically ill, lying on the ground in handcuffs there, with nobody attending to him,” Gupta said.

Two deputies with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office have been put on leave pending an investigation after the sheriff viewed the video in the Tyre Nichols’ case.

In astatement, Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. said, “Having watched the videotape for the first time tonight, I have concerns about two deputies who appeared on scene following the physical confrontation between police and Tyre Nichols.”

“I have launched an internal investigation into the conduct of these deputies to determine what occurred and if any policies were violated,” Bonner said. “Both of these deputies have been relieved of duty pending the outcome of the administrative investigation.”

Two Memphis fire personnel are also on administrative leave pending an internal investigation into their actions at the scene, CNN has previously reported.

Editor’s note: This post contains graphic descriptions of violence.

Videos released by the Shelby County District Attorney’s office show the medical response to Tyre Nichols in the moments after his beating.

In a body camera video, a first responder briefly appears to render aid to Nichols but then leaves him unattended on the ground.

Nichols appears to attempt to push himself up to a sitting position a few minutes later while first responders stand around not aiding him.

One person can be heard saying, “it’s going to be awhile for an ambulance”.

The pole cam shows that 23 minutes pass from the time Nichols appears to be subdued and on his back on the ground before a stretcher arrives on scene. Two minutes later, an ambulance pulls into frame.

Basketball teams and groups are reacting to video footage released Friday of Tyre Nichols’ fatal police encounter:

Memphis Grizzlies. Head coach Taylor Jenkins of the Memphis Grizzlies called Nichols’ death a “stark reminder” of the position the team is in to unify the city.Before the tipoff of Friday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, both teams held a moment of silence to honor Nichols at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

“The senseless loss of life for Tyre Nichols really hit us hard and it’s been tough being on the road, not being home,” Jenkins told the Bally Sports Southeast broadcast. “I wish I could extend my arms through this camera right now. To the family - they’re going through a lot.”

Minnesota Timberwolves. In a statement posted to Twitter, the Minnesota Timberwolves said the team is “deeply saddened by the tragic killing of Tyre Nichols.”

“We extend our thoughts and heartfelt sympathies to Tyre’s family, friends, loved ones, the Memphis community and communities across the country during this difficult time,” the statement read.

Cleveland Cavaliers. On Twitter, the Cleveland Cavaliers said they “grieve with Tyre Nichols’ loved ones and offer them our deepest sympathies as they grapple with the pain of his heinous and brutal murder.”

“We want to continue to be part of the solution. Through our organization’s ongoing partnership witih Law Enforcement in Northeast Ohio, we will continue doing the work to build bridges between communities of color and the region’s police departments,” the team said in a statement.

Atlanta Hawks. The Atlanta Hawks said on Twitter Friday that they “stand with Memphis,” and shared the hashtag “#JusticeForTyre.”

Miami Heat. The Miami Heat called on fans and people in South Florida to protest peacefully.

“Our hearts are broken, yet again, with the killing of Tyre Nichols: a son, a brother, a father and a friend,” the team said in a statement on Twitter. “Humanity is a right and not a privilege—one he was denied by five rogue law enforcement officers. While we are encouraged by the dual efforts of the Memphis Chief of Police and the District Attorney’s Office to take swift action, this tragic case underscores that demanding accountability from those who abuse their power is the first step to ending the abuse of power.”

National Basketball Players Association. The NBPA said on Twitter that its players “mourn the loss of Tyre Nichols and extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to the Nichols family during this difficult time.” The association also said it stands by “the rightful arrest of all officers involved.”

“Such aggressive policing and excessive force illustrate the continued need for accountability in the justice system,” the NBPA said.

Editor’s note: This post contains graphic descriptions of violence.

The first responders at the scene where Tyre Nichols was beaten by police repeatedly walked away from him as he twisted on the pavement with his hands restrained, video taken from a pole-mounted camera showed.

About two minutes after paramedics started attending to Nichols, he is seen falling over to the side and seeming to hit his head against a piece of equipment after a bright light was shone in his face. No one appears to help Nichols as he tries to sit up, only to fall over again. About a minute later, officers are seen crowding around Nichols, only to step away as he again falls onto his side.

After nearly five minutes of standing over Nichols and occasionally shining a light toward his face, first responders walk away, and Nichols twists on the ground unhelped. Medical equipment is finally brought back to Nichols’ side about three minutes later.

An ambulance gurney arrives 28 minutes into the video, shortly after 9 p.m. CT, according to the video’s time stamp.

Antonio Romanucci, an attorney for Tyre Nichols’ family, said he anticipates more charges for those involved in Nichols’ death.

“I do anticipate more charges.I’m not going to say what thestate’s attorney is going to do, but I will say that in thatroom, that was absolutely discussed.It has not been ruled out,” he told CNN Friday.

Five former Memphis police officers who were fired for their actions during thearrest of Nicholswere indicted on charges including murder and kidnapping Thursday.

The former officers, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith, Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills Jr., have each been charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, two charges of aggravated kidnapping, two charges of official misconduct and one charge of official oppression, Mulroy said.

Shelby County District Attorney Steven Mulroy also previously said the investigation is ongoing and there could be further charges.

“I can’t guess what they’re going to do, but is there any question thatmore charges should be brought?In my opinion, in this person’sopinion, there is no doubt thatfailure to intervene, thatfailure to render medical aid,to assist a dying person, is unconscionable.There is no doubt that furthercharges should be brought, in myopinion,” Romanucci said.

Martavius Jones, the chair of the Memphis City Council, was emotional discussing the newly released video of the deadly encounter between Tyre Nichols and Memphis police.

“We saw a man essentially die at the hands of police,” he told CNN. Jones started crying when thinking about the footage, saying, “We all knew the fate of that young man.”

Asked for his reaction to the video, Jones was not initially able to get any words out. He turned away from the camera and covered his face before grabbing a tissue, shaking his head.

Jones said his term on the city council is ending soon, but before he leaves his elected position, he vowed to do something to “build a better Memphis for Mr. Nichols,” something he acknowledged would require hard conversations. Specifically, Jones pointed to the culture of policing and the mindset officers have when pulling over Black people.

“We have to let his legacy, hissacrifice, the sacrifice thathis mother would not have herson anymore — we cannot let thisgo unaddressed.We cannot let this gounaddressed,” he said.

“We have to do something,” he said. “This wasn’t supposed to happen in our community,” he added.

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Editor’s note: This post contains graphic descriptions of violence.

During his initial confrontation with police, Tyre Nichols can be heard telling officers that he is “just trying to go home,” video released by the city of Memphis shows.

“Damn, I didn’t do anything,” Nichols says, as officers approach him with their guns drawn.

“On the ground, on the ground,” officers can be heard yelling at him.

“Alright, I’m on the ground,” Nichols can be heard saying.

“Bitch, put your hands behind your back before I …. I’m going to knock your ass the f*ck out,” an officer yells at him.

Nichols responds: “You guys are really doing a lot right now. I’m just trying to go home.”

“Man, if you don’t lay down!” an officer says, to which Nichols responds: “I am on the ground!”

“On your stomach!” an officer yells.

“I … am … please,” Nichols says.

Nichols says one more time, “I’m not doing anything,” before he starts struggling with officers, who deploy pepper spray.

Nichols pulls away and starts to run as one officer tries to tase him.

Later clips show that officers beat Nichols on the ground after they caught up to him a short distance from his home.

Editor’s note: This post contains graphic descriptions of violence.

In body camera video footage released by the city of Memphis Friday, an officer can be seen tying his boot while Tyre Nichols sits on the ground in handcuffs leaning against a police cruiser.

One officer appears to complain about an injury to his leg and knee.The officers mill about, talking about Nichols escaping custody while he sits next to a police car unattended.

Nichols slumps over and an officer walks over to pull him back upright before directing him to sit up.

Paramedics appear to show up on scene 10 minutes into the body cam video. Nichols does not appear to be conscious.

Officers appear to say at least two officers pepper sprayed Nichols, “saying I sprayed, he sprayed.”Then an officer says another officer tased Nichols.

One officer says, “He swung, pow, almost hit me” followed by a second saying, “Then he reached for (inaudible) gun” while pointing at another officer.One officer says Nichols grabbed his gun saying, “He had his hand on my gun, motherf*cker was holding it.”

An officer later describes the traffic stop involving Nichols saying, “We tried to get him stopped, he didn’t stop.”

The officers goes on to say, “He drove around, swerved, nearly hit my car” “He pulled up to the red light, stopped, put his turn signal on.”

Nichols is seen in the video rolling slowly on the ground, attempting to speak as a first responder repeatedly tells him, “you can’t go nowhere.”

The newly released video of theviolent arrestof Tyre Nichols is difficult to watch — but it may also be hard to avoid. Some people might even feel duty-bound to watch it as a way to pay tribute to Nichols, who died three days after the confrontation with officers.

Psychologists say the best approach to care for mental health is to know your limits – and possibly to avoid watching the video altogether.

Research showsthat frequent exposure to violent news events can cause negative stress reactions. Even witnessing vicarious violence can raise a person’s sense ofanxietyand fear and, in some cases, lead to post-traumatic stress disorder.

Dr. Erlanger Turner, a psychologist and assistant professor of psychology at Pepperdine University, said it’s good to do a self-assessment before watching such videos.

“I oftentimes tell people to know yourself before you consume the content, because everybody responds to these types of images differently,” said Turner, who is an expert in the effects of witnessing police violence on social media and on the perception of police bias in communities of color. “Some people can see it and they can be sort of OK. Other people, it could trigger some really strong emotions.”

Talking to kids: Parents and others who care for children may need to prepare for their questions.

Parents should try to anticipate their kids’ response to seeing or hearing about the video and how to talk about it, Turner said. Will the child be numb to it after seeing so many violent images? Will they be upset? Are they going to be afraid for their parents or for themselves?

Here are some places you can find immediate help:

For resources specific to Black wellness:

Editor’s note: This post contains graphic descriptions of violence.

Video taken from a remotely controlled camera mounted on a neighborhood utility pole shows Memphis police officers hitting Tyre Nichols at least nine times without visible provocation.

When the camera first turns toward the police scene, an officer is shown shoving Nichols hard to the pavement with a knee or leg.

Nichols is pulled up by his shoulders and then kicked in the face twice. After being pulled up into a sitting position, Nichols is hit in the back with what appears to be a baton.After being pulled to his knees, Nichols is hit again.

Once pulled to his feet, the video shows officers hitting Nichols in the face multiple times while his hands are restrained behind his body, after which he falls to his knees. Less than a minute later, an officer appears to kick Nichols.

More than three minutes after the encounter is first seen on camera, officers let go of Nichols, and he rolls onto his back.

One minute later, Nichols is dragged along the pavement and propped up in a sitting position against the side of a car, where he is largely ignored by officers for the next three-and-a-half minutes.Ten minutes into the video, a person who appears to be a paramedic finally engages Nichols.

Editor’s note: This post contains graphic descriptions of violence.

A Memphis police officer is heard on newly released body camera video of the Jan. 7 arrest of Tyre Nichols, yelling at Nichols, “I’m going to baton the f*ck out of you. Give me your f*cking hands.”

Tyre Nichols screams for his mom as the video shows officer arriving on scene at a second location, in a residential neighborhood.

Officers tell Nichols to “give them his hand,” as a struggle ensues on the ground.An officer asks Nichols, “Do you want to get sprayed again?”

Two officers hit and kick Nichols as he is on the ground.Nichols screams, “Mooooom.”

An officer then appears to pepper spray Nichols.

Nichols continue to scream for his mother during the incident.

Officers continue to tell Nichols to give him their hands as Nichols continues to scream for his mother.

A group of protesters has shut down the Interstate 55 bridge near downtown Memphis, Tennessee, according to a CNN team on scene.

The group of about 200 protesters marched from Martyrs Park, on the southern end of downtown, to the bridge. By about 7 p.m. local time (8 p.m. ET), the group had blocked all lanes on the bridge.

Memphis police asked drivers to avoid the area of I-55 and the Arkansas Bridge.

The demonstration came as CNN and other news outlets publicly played video of Tyre Nichols’ beating by police for the first time.

The crowd could be heard chanting, “No justice, no peace.”

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Shelby County District Attorney Steven Mulroy said video footage of Tyre Nichols’ arrest was released “because it was important to the community and to Tyre’s family, as they want the world to be their witness and feel their pain.”

“But as we witness the tragic end of Tyre’s life, I also urge you to remember Tyre Nichols as his family does: with his big smile, skateboarding, and being a loving family member,” Mulroy said in a statement Friday night.

“It’s my hope that this tragedy can lead to a broader conversation on police reform. Memphis has a number of local community groups and I urge you to support them in their social justice efforts. We also commit to partnering with them and doing whatever we can with our resources to help our community heal.

Editor’s note: This post contains graphic descriptions of violence.

During the initial encounter between Tyre Nichols and Memphis Police, an officer can be seen driving to the scene of a traffic stop. The officer gets out of the car with his gun drawn on the scene.

As the officer approaches the scene, an officer is yelling at Nichols to “Get the f*ck out of the car.”

Officers pull Nichols out of the vehicle and you can hear someone saying, “Get the f*ck on the ground and turn his ass around.”Nichols responds, saying, “I didn’t do anything,” and, “Alright, I’m on the ground.”

Officers yell at him to lie down and threaten to tase him.Another officer tells him, “Bitch, put your hands behind your back before I break them.”

Nichols can be heard telling them, “You guys are doing a lot right now. I am on the ground.”

A struggle ensues and Nichols gets up and runs, the officers begin to chase him.

The officer can be heard reporting in his radio that the suspect they had has run and gives a description of what Nichols was wearing.

The officer returns back to the scene where other officers are coughing and one says that he can’t see anything.

The officer find a bottle of water and they begin pouring it into their eyes.

The officer unloads his taser cartridge.

President Joe Biden is “outraged and deeply pained to see the horrific video of the beating that resulted in Tyre Nichols’ death,” he said in a statement shortly after the city of Memphis released the footage Friday night.

“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,” the president said.

The president’s statement came as CNN and other news outlets played the video for the public for the first time.

“The footage that was releasedthis eveningwill leave people justifiably outraged. Those who seek justice should not to resort to violence or destruction. Violence is never acceptable; it is illegal and destructive.I join Mr. Nichols’ family in calling for peaceful protest,” Biden said.

The city of Memphis has released police body camera and surveillance video showing the traffic stop and violent police confrontation that led to the death of Tyre Nichols.

CNN is reviewing the videos.

Five former Memphis officers are charged with second-degree murder and other counts, including assault and kidnapping.

Two Memphis Fire Department employees who were part of Nichols’ initial care have been relieved of duty, pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

Memphis officials will release a little over an hour of footage of Tyre Nichols’ deadly encounter with police, according to Shelby County District Attorney Steven Mulroy.

Mulroy, speaking to CNN ahead of the video being made public Friday night, said the material will include three body camera videos. One will be footage from “almost all” of officers’ first encounter with Nichols.

This will show the moments shortly after Memphis officers pulled over Nichols’ vehiclefor suspected reckless driving, according to a statement from Memphis police. Mulroy said the video does include the initial traffic stop.

The other two body camera videos, plus a video showing an overhead view, will show the officers’ second encounter with Nichols.

“A confrontation occurred” between officers and the vehicle’s driver — later identified as Nichols — who fled on foot after the initial traffic stop, according to Memphis police. Officers apprehended him and “another confrontation occurred,” resulting in Nichols’ arrest, police said.

Mulroy said people can expect to see “enough” of this second encounter, up until Nichols is taken away in an ambulance.

Five officer involved in the arrest have been charged with murder and kidnapping, Mulroy announced Thursday.

“But I suspect that the averageviewer after watching the videowill not have too much troubleunderstanding why all fiveofficers are being heldresponsible for the death ofTyre Nichols and we are, in fact, confident that we have a strong case,” he told CNN.

President Joe Biden spoke to reporters as he left the White House Friday night, relaying more from his discussion with Tyre Nichols’ parents.

“She’s obviously in enormous pain,” Biden told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, referring to Nichols’ mother.

“I told her I have some idea of what that loss was like,” the president added.

Biden said he told RowVaughn Wellshe would continue to urge Congress to pass legislation on policing in the wake of her son’s deadly beating by officers in Memphis, Tennessee.

“I expressed my condolences and told her that I was going to be making the case to the Congress to pass the George Floyd (Justice in Policing) Act. We should get this under control. I can only do so much with executive order, at the federal level,” Biden said.

The president also said he was “really pleased” that Wells called for “peaceful protest” and “no violence,” adding they spoke for about 10 or 15 minutes.

Asked if he was concerned about the potential for civil unrest or violence in the wake of the video’s release, the president said: “I am, I’m obviously very concerned about it, but I think she has made a very strong plea” for peace.

Ben Crump, an attorney for the family of Tyre Nichols, said viewers can expect to see police officers display an “excessive use of force” along with “excessive profanity” in the video footage set to be released tonight of Nichols’ arrest.

“It’s just so unnecessary, so uncalled for that they continue to escalate the matter,” Crump told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Friday. “You were hoping and praying as you watch this video that just one officer would say, ‘Hey everybody, this kid isn’t a criminal. He’s calm. Let us be calm. Let’s just de-escalate. Let’s just everybody calm down.’ But that never happened the entire video.”

He said cops “brutalized” Nichols, and that in the video, “nobody is trying to render aid to help this young man who’s clearly in distress.”

On Thursday, a grand juryreturned indictmentsagainst each of the five ex-cops. Crump said Friday that the charges were brought within 20 days because “that video clearly showed that these five Black police officers committed a crime.”

“This is the blueprint going forward for America whether the officers are Black or White that they can’t tell us it’s going to take six months to a year to investigate before they can take action,” he said.

Local leaders in Memphis are asking for calmness from the community as they prepare Friday night to release video of Tyre Nichols’ fatal encounter with police.

“Let your voices be heard, but let your voices be heard in a peaceful manner,” Shelby County Commission Chairman Mickell Lowery said. “Let’s be a model for the nation, because eyes are upon Memphis today.”

Lowery said he had seen the video ahead of its public release.

“Seeing the video firsthand is horrendous,” he said.

Nichols’ family attorney Ben Crump said earlier in the day that the relatively quick firing and arrests of the police officers involved and release of video should be a “blueprint” for how police brutality allegations should be handled going forward.

In response, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said that he wasn’t sure this level of speed will be possible in every case, but he was convinced it was necessary in the killing of Nichols.

“This particular case was extraordinary in terms of the public concern, the potential to undermine confidence in the fairness of the system,” said Mulroy. “I think those extraordinary circ*mstances justified expedited action.”

The SCORPION unit of the Memphis Police Department has been inactivated during a review process of MPD’s specialized units, Major Karen Rudolph tells CNN.

“There will be a review over all specialized units. Currently, the SCORPION Unit is inactivated during this review process, but it has not been disbanded.You have to remember, we have about 10 specialized units that work similar to the scorpion unit. It’s not the unit, they are necessary. In this case, it’s the officers who by chance were assigned to the scorpion unit,” she said.

In a weekly letter to the Memphis community, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland also commented on the unit being inactivated.

“It is clear that these officers violated the department’s policies and training. I want to assure you we are doing everything we can to prevent this from happening again. We are initiating an outside, independent review of the training, policies, and operations of our specialized units. Since this event happened, the SCORPION Unit has been and remains inactive,” he said.

About the unit: At least two of the officers charged in Nichols’ death were members of the Memphis PoliceSCORPIONunit, which stands for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in our Neighborhoods, according to their attorneys. The units are not unique to Memphis.

The unit was launched in November 2021.

Earlier Friday, Nichols’ family attorney Antonio Romanucci called on Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis to disband the unit immediately, and asked chiefs across the country to review their respective units and disband them as well.

CNN’s Jamiel Lynch contributed to this report.

In hisweekly letterto the Memphis community, Mayor Jim Strickland focused heavily on the death of Tyre Nichols and the arrest of five police officers on Thursday.

“Since learning of this tragic event, transparency and swift methodical action have been our top priorities because the family of Mr. Nichols and our citizens deserve nothing less. The actions of these officers were awful, and no one, including law enforcement, is above the law. I assure you we will do everything we can to keep this type of heinous act from happening again,” his letter began.

Strickland said the SCORPION unit, which encompassed some of the officers involved in the traffic stop, remains inactive pending an independent review.

“It is clear that these officers violated the department’s policies and training. I want to assure you we are doing everything we can to prevent this from happening again. We are initiating an outside, independent review of the training, policies, and operations of our specialized units. Since this event happened, the SCORPION Unit has been and remains inactive,” he said.

Closing the letter, Strickland said he is “sad and angry for the family of Tyre Nichols.”

“I am also angry for the many good men and women of the Memphis Police Department who devote their lives to serving our citizens. We must all work to regain the public’s trust and work together to heal the wounds these events have caused.”

Tennessee State Sen. London Lamar, who represents parts of Memphis, said there needs to be a change in the culture inside police departments.

After the death of Tyre Nichols, the community needs to focus on healing, she said, and this healing starts with accountability.

Five former Memphis police officers involved in Nichols’ arrest have been charged with murder and kidnapping, the Shelby County district attorney announced Thursday. These charges mean that the “system is actually working,” Lamar said, speaking at a news conference Friday.

She said the next step, now that the officers have been indicted, is wider change in the form of “tearing down a culture of police brutality.”

“I’m looking at the future at this point, and I want to bring people together who are committed to changing the culture in our police departments,” she said.

Lamar acknowledged that this is no easy task — if it was, “every police department in the United States would have done it already,” she said, adding that creating “a culture of accountability” starts with police officers themselves.

Tyre Nichols will be laid to rest on Wednesday, February 1, as previously reported by CNN.

His funeral will take place at theMississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis at 10:30 a.m. CT. (11:30 a.m. ET), according to a news release from the church.

Nichols will be eulogized by Rev. Al Sharpton.

The church will also live stream the service on Facebook and YouTube, the release said.

The Memphis Fire Department has received access today to the video of the altercation between Memphis police officers and Tyre Nichols, the department said in a Friday statement onFacebook.

“The Memphis Fire Department would like to extend our deepest sympathy to the family, friends, and loved ones of Tyre Nichols. As a result of the recent criminal investigation into the death of Mr. Nichols, the Memphis Fire Department did not receive full access to the video footage until today. The department is currently reviewing the footage and will be concluding our internal investigation early next week,” according to the statement.

Two members of the department were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation,” according to Qwanesha Ward, the fire department’s public information officer.

Speaking to CNN’s Don Lemon earlier today, Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis said paramedics who were at the scene at some point during the traffic stop “failed to render proper care,” based on her assessment.

“They began to render care and concern, but it was long after several minutes,” she said.“Which was concerning for all of us — that we see a number of failures where individuals did not exercise the amount of care that we are responsible for. No matter what the cause is, we are responsible for exercising care.”

CNN’s Amanda Watts contributed reporting to this post.

All five former Memphis Police officers indicted in the killing of Tyre Nichols will be arraigned Feb. 17, Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk Public Information Officer Kevin Phipps told CNN.

They will be arraigned at 10 a.m. ET before Judge James Jones, Phipps said.

All five are expected to be arraigned together, Phipps said, adding that Jones will allow cameras in the courtroom. The former officers are currently free on bond.

President Joe Biden spoke by phone to the family of Tyre Nichols Friday afternoon, the White House confirmed.

Washington Post reporter Emily Davies posted a video on Twitter of the exchange between the president and Nichols’ parents, who were sitting with attorney Ben Crump.

In the short video of what the reporter says was a 10-minute call, Biden can be heard talking about his own family tragedies as Crump holds the phone up to Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells.

The call with Biden came hours before the expected release of video from Nichols’ arrest. The family held a news conference in Memphis, Tennessee, earlier Friday.

In a statement, the White House said Biden called the family to “express his and Dr. Biden’s condolences” and praise the family for their “courage and strength.”

Biden’s phone call was “very personal,” according to outgoing White House chief of staff Ron Klain.

“The president wanted to reach out to Tyre’s family as a parent, as someone who’s lost a child himself, and express his condolences, express his determination to continue to work on the issue of police reform. But mostly to connect with Mrs. Wells and other members of the family on a personal level. He did have a very personal phone call with them this afternoon,” Klain said on MSNBC.

Klainalso emphasized the importance of peaceful protest.

“I hope people will honor what Mrs. Wells has requested — that people be outraged about this, that people demand accountability and reform but that they do so peacefully,”Klainsaid.

After viewing parts of the video of Tyre Nichols’ arrest for the first time ahead of its expected release this evening, Memphis city councilman Frank Colvett told CNN it is “as appalling as we havebeen led to believe.”

Officers will have to answer to their charges when they have their day in court, Colvett said during an interview with CNN’s Abby Phillip.

“It is sickening, but I want toreassure everyone that the legalprocess is going to go forwardand the accused are going tohave their day in court.They are going to be charged asthey have been and they aregoing to answer to thesecharges,” Colvett said.

“This is not Memphis. This is not indicative of the Memphis Police Department,” he added.

The councilman, who said he watched two of a series of four videos, said it was difficult to say exactly how many, or if all, officers had participated in the beating of Nichols, but that, regardless, the officers’ actions“are clear.”

Asked if the Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods unit, or SCORPION for short, was involved in Nichols’ arrest should be disbanded, Colvett urged the public to watch the video first and “process that.”The unit was launched in November 2021.

“If this is indicative of theSCORPION Unit, obviously it willbe disbanded,” Colvett said. “What I think we ought to do though is, let’s process what we’reabout to all see and thenthoughtfully, logically evaluateall this, and what we need to doand go forward so that we keepMemphis and Memphians safe.”

Video footage of Tyre Nichols’ violent arrest on Jan. 7 will be released on YouTube in four parts — showing the initial stop, the stop near Nichols’ home and body-worn camera footage of the individuals at the scene — sometime Friday evening, Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis said.

CNN has obtained portions of the police scanner audioleading up to the 29-year-old Black driver’s arrest. Portions of the audio are inaudible, but a brief part of the conversation between an officer and the dispatcher can be heard.

An officer is heard saying, “We got one Black male running,” and giving instructions to “run that car registration tag and see what’s the address,” followed by what sounds like Nichols in distress.

It’s not clear where this audio fits in the sequence of the incident or which officer is speaking.

Family attorneys watched the video on Monday anddescribed it as “heinous.” Nichols was tased, pepper-sprayed and restrained, family attorney Ben Crump said, and compared it to the LAPD beating of Rodney King.

Crump described the video as “appalling,” “deplorable” and “heinous.” He said Wells, Nichols’ mother, was unable to get through viewing the first minute of the footage after hearing Nichols ask, “What did I do?” At the end of the footage, Nichols can be heard calling for his mother three times, the attorney said.

Nichols fled from the police, according to Rodney Wells, his stepfather, because he was afraid.

“Our son ran because he was scared for his life,” Wells said Monday. “He did not run because he was trying to get rid of no drugs, no guns, no any of that. He ran because he was scared for his life. And when you see the video, you will see why he was scared for his life.”

In timing the video’s release, Davis told CNN Friday that “we thought about schools, we thought about businesses and we felt like Friday afternoon if there were individuals [who] decided they wanted to peacefully protest, at least other individuals would have gone home, schools would be out and it wouldn’t be as disruptive as it would have been if we released it on … on a Wednesday afternoon.”

“A lot of the people’s questions about what exactly happened will, of course, be answered once people see the video,” Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy told CNN’s Laura Coates Tuesday night, noting he believes the city will release enough footage to show the “entirety of the incident, from the very beginning to the very end.”

Five Memphis Police Department officers, who also are Black, were fired after an internal investigation and arefacing criminal charges, including second-degree murder.

Tyre Nichols’ mother RowVaughn Wells gave an emotional speech at a Friday news conference, saying she is still processing her son’s death, and hasn’t had time to grieve.

“I still haven’t had timeto grieve yet.I’m still dealing with the deathof my son.This was not supposedto happen.My son was supposed to be withme today,” she said.

Wells said she will always know that she will be with him because he had a tattoo of her name on his arm. “My son loved me to death and Iloved him to death,” she said,“And so this is very difficultfor me.”

“No mother should go through whatI’m going through right now.No mother.To lose their child to theviolent way that I lost mychild,” she added.

Ahead of the video release of Nichols’ arrest, she asked parents to not let their children watch it.

“I’ve never seen the video, but what I’ve heard it’s very horrific, very horrific,” she said. “And any of you who have children, please don’t let them see it.”

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CNN’s Paradise Afshar contributed to this reporting

Tyre Nichols’ family attorney Antonio Romanucci called on Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis to disband the “SCORPION Unit” immediately, and asked chiefs across the country to review their respective units and disband them as well.

“Thesaturation units are givenwhispered impunity … in order to carry outtheir design. They can’t collect guns, theycan’t find stolen cars unlessthey unwittingly trap innocentpeople in this web.Therefore, we are asking chiefDavis to disband this SCORPIONunit effective immediately.Immediately,” he added.

These units “wind upoppressing the people that wecare about the most — ourchildren, our young sons anddaughters, who are Black andbrown, because they are the mostvulnerable,” Romanucci said, accusing the unit of “creating acontinual pattern and practiceof bad behavior.”

Some background: At least two of the officers charged in Nichols’ death were members of the Memphis PoliceSCORPION(Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in our Neighborhoods) unit, according to their own attorneys. The units are not unique to Memphis.

Romanucci added: “The intent of the SCORPION unithas now been corrupted.It cannot be brought back tocenter with any sense ofmorality and dignity, and mostimportantly trust in thiscommunity.”

“How will the community ever,ever trust a scorpion unit?” he asked. “The intent was good.The end result was a failure, andwe must recognize that and dosomething about it.”

He reiterated:“I call on all chiefs in thiscountry to review theirsaturation units, to reviewtheir special squad units, anddisband them, because they caneasily become corrupted whenthey are told they are whispered in their ear, ‘act with impunity.’”

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Tyre Nichols’ stepfather Rodney Wells reiterated the family’s call for peaceful protests following the expected release tonight of the video showing his son’s traffic stop that resulted in murder charges for five former Memphis officers.

“We’revery satisfied with the charges,” he said during a news conference with the family’s attorneys. “More importantly, we want peace.We do not want any type ofuproar.We do not want any type ofdisturbance, we want peacefulprotests, that’s what the familywants.That’s what the community wants.”

“The family is very satisfiedwith the process, with thepolice chief, the [district attorney].They acted very, very quickly inthis case. We are very, very pleased withthat,” he added.

An attorney for Tyre Nichols’ family, Antonio Romanucci, called on police unions to make statements after five former Memphis officers were charged with murder in Nichols’ death.

He continued: “We want to hear from you.We want to hear you say thatwhat happened to Tyre, whathappened to this family, shouldnever ever happen again, thatyou condemn the brutality, thesavagery, the terrorism,the heinousness, the vulgarity ofthese actions and we should allstand for that. You don’t have to be a policeunion.We all have to just have a souland a heart.”

Ben Crump, an attorney for the family of Tyre Nichols, said his parents “want reform with thesecharges” against five former Memphis police officers in the death of Nichols.

Nichols mother, RowVaughn Wells, and his stepfather, Rodney Wells, want “reform that we can try toprevent some of these hashtagsof Black and brown people beingunjustly killed by police,” Crump said while standing beside them at a news conference in Memphis Friday.

Crump called for the creation of a “Tyre law” that could “emphasize the importance ofpolice officers … to have a duty tointervene when they see crimesbeing committed — even if those crimes are being committed bytheir fellow officers.”

“That will be the appropriatelegacy that we give Tyre Nichols;if we really think we wantjustice for justice, it’s notjustice for one family,it’s justice for all of us, that’s want RowVaughn is praying for,” he said.

Ben Crump, the attorney for Tyre Nichols’ family, applauded the Shelby County district attorney office for bringing charges against the five former Memphis officers involved in Nichols’ death.

“We applaud the district attorney for bringingcharges against the fiveofficers for second-degreemurder, aggravated assault,aggravated kidnapping, officialmisconduct and officialoppression.Very important charges againstthese five officers,” he said in a press conference on Friday.

The action taken against the former officers provide a blueprint for America in cases of police brutality, he added.

“We want toproclaim that this is theblueprint going forward for anytime, any officers, whether theybe Black or White, will be heldaccountable. No longer can you tell us we gotto wait six months to a yeareven though we got a video withevidence of the excessive force in the crime,” he said.

Crump listed the names of other people killed by law enforcement who were not afforded the same timetable.

“Tyre deserved it. Tamir Rice deserved it. Ronald Greene deserved it. Alton Sterling deserved it. Eric Garner deserved it,” he said.

“We have a precedent that had been set here in Memphis, and we intend to hold this blueprint for all America from this day forward,” the attorney added.

CNN’s Amanda Watts contributed reporting to this post.

Tyre Nichols’ family and family attorney Ben Crump are holding a news conference in Memphis, Tennessee, hours before the expected release of videos from his arrest.

The family’s attorneys were able to view video from the arrest earlier this month. Five Memphis officers were charged Thursday inthe death of Nichols.

In an emotional interview with CNN’s Don Lemon earlier Friday, Nichols’ mother and stepfather described watching a brutal beating and the inhumane treatment of their son in the clips they reviewed.

Crump and the family are addressing reporters from Mount Olive Baptist Church.

It’s been almost three weeks since a traffic stop in Memphis led to a violent arrest and, three days later, the death of the 29-year-old Black driver.

Tyre Nichols was hospitalized after he waspulled over on January 7, police have said. Five Memphis Police Department officers, who also are Black, were fired after an internal investigation and arefacing criminal charges, including second-degree murder charges.

Key questions remain unanswered as the nation – already vigilant ofhow police treat people of color, especially following themass protests of 2020– waits forpolice to release footageof the incident. The video footage will be released sometime after 6 p.m. CT on Friday, officials said.

Here’s what we know — and still don’t know about Nichols’ death:

The police “confrontation”: On January 7, around 8:30 p.m.,Memphis officers pulled over a vehiclefor suspected reckless driving, according to a statement from Memphis police.

“A confrontation occurred” between officers and the vehicle’s driver – later identified as Nichols – who then fled on foot, according to Memphis police. Officers apprehended him and “another confrontation occurred,” resulting in Nichols’ arrest, police said.

It’s not clear what about his driving might have appeared reckless, how far Nichols fled on foot, who was involved in the initial police encounter, how officers apprehended him, how long these “confrontations” lasted, why officers felt compelled to confront Nichols twice and where exactly this happened.

At a Thursday news conference, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said there was an “elapsed period of time” in getting medical help for Nichols when he was injured during a traffic stop by Memphis police officers.

Nichols’ death: On January 10, three days after the stop, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced Nichols had died due to injuries sustained in the “use-of-force incident with officers,” according to a statement.

Nichols suffered “extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating,” according to preliminary results of an autopsy commissioned by attorneys for his family.

CNN has asked Crump for a copy of theautopsy commissioned by the family, but he said the full report is not yet ready. Officials have also not released Nichols’ autopsy.

Who was Tyre Nichols? Nichols was the baby of his family, the youngest of four children and heloved being a fatherto his son, his family said.

He was a “good boy” who spent his Sundays doing laundry and getting ready for the week, his mother,RowVaughn Wells, said.

Nichols moved to Memphis before the Covid-19 pandemic and got stuck there when things shut down, his mother said.

When he wasn’t working the second shift at FedEx, Nichols enjoyed photography and skateboarding, something he had been doing since he was 6.

Nichols had Crohn’s disease, a digestive issue, and was a slim 140 to 145 pounds despite his six-foot-three-inch height, his mother said.

What police have said since the incident: On January 18, the Department of Justice said acivil rights investigationwas opened into Nichols’ death. The Memphis police chiefcondemned the actionsof officers involved.

“This is not just a professional failing. This is a failing of basic humanity toward another individual,” Chief Cerelyn Davis said in a YouTube video Wednesday, her first on-camera comments about the arrest that preceded Nichols’ death.

Family and attorneys have seen footage of the incident: Family attorneys did watch the video on Monday anddescribed it as “heinous.”Nichols was tased, pepper-sprayed and restrained, Benjamin Crump said, and compared it to the Los Angeles Police beating of Rodney King in 1991. Crump described the video as “appalling,” “deplorable” and “heinous.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland expressed condolences to the family of Tyre Nichols and echoed their calls to keep any protests peaceful.

“We have opened last week a federalcivil rights investigation with the color of law statute, which we will be investigating.We have been working in supportof the state and local lawenforcement in this matter, and we will continue to do so,” Garland told reporters during an unrelated news conference.

“I do want to say, and I want torepeat what the family has said,that expressions of concern whenpeople see this video, we urgethat they be peaceful andnonviolent.That is what the family hasurged and that of course is whatthe Justice Department urges as well,” Garland said, adding that he had not seen the video, but he had been briefed on it.

“I can’t imagine the feelingsthat parents must feel underthese circ*mstances,” he added.

FBI Director Chrisotpher Wray told reporters that he had seen the video of Nichols’ arrest and that it was “appalling.”

“I’m struggling to find a stronger word but I can tell you I was appalled,” Wray said.

CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz contributed reporting to this post.

The fifth former Memphis police officer indicted in the death of Tyre Nichols was released on bond Friday, according to Shelby County Jail records.

Demetrius Haley was released on $350,000 bond,jail records show.

All indicted officers have been released, according to jail records.

Ex-officers Emmitt Martin and Tadarrius Bean were released on bond Thursday night into Friday, according to Shelby County Jail records.Martin was released on a $350,000 bond, while Bean was released on a$250,000 bond, jail records show. Former officers Justin Smith and Desmond Mills Jr. were also released on $250,000 bond on Thursday night, according to county jail records.

CNN’s Rebekah Riess and Andy Rose contributed reporting to this post.

Members of Memphis City Council, who choose to view the forthcoming police video of Tyre Nichols’ arrest, are being allowed to see it at noon local time, City Council Member Martavius Jones tells CNN.

That viewing will take place at city hall, at least six hours before the city release the video to the general public after 6 p.m. local time.

It is not clear where the video viewing for the city council members will take place.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Friday that it is coordinating with partners across the United States ahead of the expected release of the video in the death of Tyre Nichols later today.

The agency “will continue working with our partners across every level of government and impacted communities to share timely information and to support efforts to keep our communities safe,” it said.

Police departments in Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Nashville, Milwaukee, Seattle, Denver,Dallas, New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Louisville, Indianapolis and Atlanta told CNN they are either monitoring the events in Memphis closely or already have plans in place in case of large-scale protests or unrest.

The city of Memphis plansto release video of Nichols’ fatal arrestsometime after 6 p.m. local time (7 p.m. ET) Friday.

Memphis City Council Vice Chair JB Smiley Jr. said the city will continue to work with community leaders and organizers ahead of the video release, in hopes of quelling any potentially dangerous protests.

“I think what you will see in Memphis, you will see protests, but it will be peaceful because the Memphis Police Department, the sheriff’s department, the district attorney and the Memphis City Council, along with the city administration, has took all the necessary steps to quell any potential of rioting in our city,” Smileysaid.

CNN’s Kiely Westhoff, Nicki Brown and Jennifer Henderson contributed reporting to this post.

Tyre Nichols’ stepfather, Rodney Wells, described the video of his son’s arrest, telling CNN that “one officer kicked him like hewas kicking a football, a couple of times.”

“They havethis little like stick, thismetal thing that they pull out,” Wells told CNN’s Don Lemon. “They pull out — like anantenna.I saw them pull that out andstarted beating my son with it.And I saw officers hitting onhim, I saw officers kicking him.”

Wells added that officers did not render aid to his son.

“The most telling thing about the video to me was the fact that it was maybe 10 officers on the scene and nobody tried to stop it or even after they beat him and they propped him up against the car, no one rendered aid to him whatsoever,” he said. “They walked around, smoking cigarettes like it was all calm.”

“He was sitting there, and then he slumped over. And an officer walked over to him and said, ‘sit back up mother – mf,’ you know, while he’s handcuffed. So, he had to, they prop him back up, and he slumped over again, and they prop him back up again, but no one was rendering aid,” he continued.

“I saw some fire department people come out there and they just walked around and nobody showed him any aid, and they supposed to be trained in first aid. By the time the paramedic truck pulled up, that’s when we couldn’t see anything because the paramedic truck blocked the camera,” Wells said.

The city of Memphis plans to release the video sometime after 6 p.m. local time (7 p.m. ET).

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In her first interview since the death of Tyre Nichols, Memphis Police ChiefCerelyn Davis said the police department has been unable to find anything that’s substantiated the probable cause for reckless driving.

Speaking to CNN’s Don Lemon on Friday, Davis said, “We’ve looked at cameras, we’ve looked at body worn cameras, and even if something occurred prior to this stop, we’ve been unable to substantiate that. At this time.”

“So of course in an investigation, we begin to look at what was the probable cause for the stop? Where were the cameras? Was there some evidence on the body camera, on other cameras along those thoroughfares and we’ve taken a pretty extensive look to determine, you know, what that probable cause was, and we have not been able to substantiate that — it doesn’t mean that something didn’t happen, but there’s no proof,” she said.

The city of Memphis plans to release video of Nichols’ arrest sometime after 6 p.m. local time (7 p.m. ET) Friday, according to Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy.

Mulroy told CNN’s Sara Sidner that the police report and the video of the incident do not overlap perfectly.

He said he has seen the police report filed in the incident — which has not been released to the public — adding he won’t give too much detail about what’s in it.

“Is there overlap between the police report and the events? Yes. Is there a perfect overlap? No,” he said. “And you know that’s the kind of thing that I think the ongoing federal investigation might be particularly interested in.”

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An attorney for one of the officers charged with the murder of Tyre Nichols said he doesn’t believe his client “is capable of” the accusations against him.

“When this video comes out, I expect that Mr. Mills will not be delivering blows that cause death,” Blake Ballin, the attorney representing Desmond Mills, Jr., said in an interview with CNN’s Don Lemon. “I’ve sat down with Mr. Mills, I’ve looked him in the eye, I know the kind of person he is; I’ve talked with other people who have seen the video, and I just don’t believe that Mr. Mills is capable of committing that act.”

Ballin said he has not watched the video himself yet, but he’s spoken to people who have seen the footage.

“The levels of culpability amongst these five officers are different, and I expect that you’re going to see in this video that my client Desmond Mills is not, in fact, guilty of the crimes he’s been charged with,” he said.

Ballin said his client is “remorseful” to be “connected to the death” of Nichols.

“He is remorseful that he is attached to anything like this, that he is involved or connected to the death of somebody who, whose life should not have been taken. That is devastating to him.”

Ballin also called Mills a “victim” of the system he worked within.

“Just because Mr. Mills was a part of that system doesn’t mean that he can’t also be a victim of it, and so it’s my job to protect him and to protect his rights,” he said. “I believe Desmond Mills is a good person.”

“I caution everyone to look at this with an open mind and to treat each of these officers as individuals,” Ballin said.

The Shelby County district attorney said the charges his office brought against the former Memphis officers in the death of Tyre Nichols show that they “caused his death and are responsible for his death.”

District Attorney Steve Mulroy told CNN that he wouldn’t characterize the video of the incident that will be released later on Friday, but added that anyone who has seen the video has “realized relatively quickly” that this “needed to be followed up on.”

“I will assure you that once you see the video … I think people can draw their own conclusions, but I don’t imagine there’ll be a lot of perceived ambiguity,” Mulroy added.

Mulroy called the video “heartbreaking.”

Whenhe first watched it, Mulroy said his “heart just went out to the family of Tyre Nichols, you know, because I knew eventually they would see this video, they would have to watch this.”

He said he immediately understood this incident could possibly be “explosive.”

“I’ve only been on the job, not even five months and you know, I realized that this could be potentially explosive,” Mulroy said.

In an exclusive CNN interview Friday, Tyre Nichols’ mother discussed race in the context of police violence, pointing to Black and brown kids who she said “always get beat up” when they encounter police, no matter the color of the officer.

“People try to say Blackpeople, we only try to go afterWhite officers.That’s not true.We don’t care what color theofficer is.We want bad officers taken offthe force.We know there’s a lot of greatofficers, I know…But there are bad officers, too.And those are the ones that weneed to get rid of,” Nichols’ mother RowVaughn Wells told CNN’s Don Lemon Friday in a powerful interview.

“I don’t care what color police officer [it is.] But by [the accused officersbeing Black, it hurt the Blackcommunity,” she added. “They have brought shame to theirown families.They have brought shame to theBlack community.”

She said these former officers “have to show somecompassion to people” and they have to “learn thateveryone is human and everyone.”

Wells said Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis is “doing an excellent job. I feel she’s moving things along.”

Wells said she wanted to see first degree murder charges brought against the officers involved in her son’s death, but she understands that the charges brought against them will be the ones that“will stick. And so I’m happy with the charges that the district attorney has set forth.”

CNN’s Amanda Watts contributed reporting to this post.

Attorney Benjamin Crump told CNN Friday some of the last words Tyre Nichols says on the video of his arrest are him calling out to his mother.

“He calls out for you three times,”Crump told Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, during an interview with CNN’s Don Lemon,“gut-wrenching screams for his mom.”

Wells has not watched the video of her son’s beating, but says she knows enough about the incident that she feels sorry for the officers.

“They have put their own families in harm’s way. They have brought shame to their own families. They brought shame to the Black community,”she said through tears.“I feel sorry for them. I really do. I really feel sorry for them, because they didn’t have to do this.”

Tyre weighed 150 pounds, his mother said.“And those men, if you combine their weights, they all — it was over 1,000 pounds, beating and beating a150-pound personto death.”

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The mother of Tyre Nichols said she’ll miss his “beautiful smile” the most.

Speaking to CNN’s Don Lemon, RowVaughn Wells said, “My son had a beautiful soul and he touched a lot of people.”

“I always joke — because he’ll come in the house and he’ll come in and say ‘hello parents’ — and I’ll never hear that again,” Wells said. “I’ll never cook for my son again.I’ll never get a hug from my son again. I won’t get anything from my son again, just because some officers decided they wanted to do harm to my son.”

“No mother should have to go through this,” she added.

Tyre Nichols’ mother spoke to CNN about seeing her son in the hospital after his traffic stop.

“Around 4:00 in the morning,the doctors called from St.Francis and said, ‘Mrs. Wells, doyou know your son’s in thehospital?’And I said, ‘yes, I was advisedby the police officers.’He said, ‘why aren’t you here?’And I said, ‘the police officerssaid that I couldn’t come,because he was under arrest.’The doctor proceeded to tell methat my son had went intocardiac arrest and that hiskidneys were failing,” RowVaughn Wells told CNN about why she was delayed in getting to her son.

She said her son was “already gone” by the time she and her husband got to the hospital.

“They had beat him to a pulp.He had bruises all over him. Hishead was swollen like awatermelon. His neck was bustingbecause of the swelling — theybroke his neck. My son’s noselooked like an ‘S.’They actually just beat the crapout of him,” she said in an emotional interview with CNN.

“Even if hedid live, he would have been avegetable,” she added.

By the time she got to the hospital, she said the police officers has been “whisked away” and heard that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation ” had takenover the investigation.”

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In their first interview since charges were announced for the officer involved, Tyre Nichol’s parents told CNN’s Don Lemon in an exclusive interview that they are living in a nightmare.

It’s been less than a month since her son died.

“I don’t have my baby. I’ll never have my baby again,” she said. “I do know that he was a good person. And that all this — all the good in Tyre will come out and so that’s what keeps me going, because I just feel like my son was sent here on assignment.”

“His assignment [is] over. It’s over. And he was sent back home. And God is not gonna let any of his children’s names go in vain. So, when this is all over, it’s gonna be some good and some positive because my son was a good and positive person,” she added.

Memphis Police ChiefCerelyn “CJ” Davis said paramedics who were at the scene at some point during the Tyre Nichols traffic stop “failed to render proper care.”

“Based on the video, they failed to render proper care, and it’s just based on my assessment,” she told CNN Friday in her first interview since the incident.

The care came “several minutes” after, she said, adding that it was “concerning for all of us, that we see a number of failures where individuals did not exercise the amount of care that we are responsible for — no matter what the cause is we are responsible for exercising care.”

Davis noted that the fire chief also quickly began an investigation into their actions on scene.

Nichols suffered “extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating,” according to preliminary results of an autopsy commissioned by attorneys for his family.

“We can state that preliminary findings indicate Tyre suffered extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating, and that his observed injuries are consistent with what the family and attorneys witnessed on the video of his fatal encounter with police on January 7, 2023,” attorneyBenjamin Crump said in a statement.

CNN has asked Crump for a copy of theautopsy commissioned by the family, but he said the full report is not yet ready. Officials have also not released Nichols’ autopsy.

CNN’s Alisha Ebrahimji contributed to this post.

Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis said the department will release the video of Tyre Nichols’ traffic stop in four parts on YouTube.

“The video is broken into four different sort of fragmented pieces,” that are all relative to the incident, she told CNN Friday.

The department plans “to post it on a YouTube link so that it can be accessible to just about anybody who wants to access that video,” Davis said.

The video will show the initial stop, the stop near Nichols’ home, and also body-worn camera of individual officers, she noted.

Davis said the video showing the beating of Nichols is as bad, if not worse thanRodney Kingin 1992, a motorist whose savage encounter with police sparked outrage after footage was released.

“I was in law enforcement during the Rodney King incident, and it’s very much aligned with that same type of behavior,” he said.

“I would say it’s about the same if not worse,” she added.

In her first interview since thedeath of Tyre Nichols, Memphis Police ChiefCerelyn “CJ” Davis said she learned of the incident around 4 a.m. local time the next morning after, and she saw the video of his arrest the following Sunday.

She told CNN she was “outraged” when she first saw the video.

“I was it was incomprehensible to me, it was unconscionable. And I felt that I needed to do something and do something quickly,” she said Friday. “I don’t think I’ve witnessed anything of that nature my entire career.”

The video shows “acts that defy humanity,” she said. “You’re going to see a disregard for life a duty of care that we’re all sworn to and a level of physical interaction that is above and beyond what is required in law enforcement.”

The officers from the start of the traffic stop were“riled up,” Davis said. “There was an amount of aggression that is unexplainable.”

Davis pointed to a“group think mentality” she says she saw on the video.

“What I saw on this video was more of a group sort of mentality, you know, a group and no one took a step to intercept or intervene and that’s why the charges are so severe,” she added.

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said that the five officers indicted are all responsible for the death of Tyre Nichols.

A grand jury returned indictments against Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith, Tadarrius Bean,Demetrius Haley andDesmond Mills, charging each with:

“While each of the fiveindividuals played a differentrole in the incident inquestion, the actions of all ofthem resulted in the death ofTyre Nichols, and they are allresponsible,” Mulroy said during a news conference Thursday.

The officers are currently in custody, he added.

Mulroy went on to explain why there are charges of aggravated kidnapping in Nichols’ case.

“Kidnapping is any unlawfulconfinement of another which substantially restrainssomeone’s liberty.At a certain point in thesequence of events, it is ourview that this, if it wasa legal detention to begin with — it certainly became illegal ata certain point and it was unlawfuldetention. The aggravated nature of thecharge is because if thatkidnapping resulted in bodilyinjury, that’s one grounds forsaying that it is aggravatedkidnapping.If the persons involved in thatunlawful restraint of libertypossessed weapons, that isanother ground for saying thatthe kidnapping was aggravated,” he said.

Nichols died three days after he was pulled over for alleged reckless driving by Memphis Police Department officers, asCNN previously reported.

In a statement, police claimed confrontations ensued between Nichols and the officers. After he was taken into custody, police said, Nichols complained he was having shortness of breath and was taken to a local hospital, where he later died.