Once again, a US police operation caused horror, resulting in the death of a black man. Tire Nichols, 29, was beaten by emergency services for several minutes, one of the family’s lawyers, Antonio Romanucci, told a news conference.
According to police, Nichols was pulled over in early January in the US metropolis of Memphis, Tennessee, for “reckless driving”. According to the information, there were “clashes” – the man died a few days later in the hospital.
“He was helpless”
Now the victim’s relatives were able to watch the video of the police operation. “He was helpless. The whole time. He was a human piñata to those cops,” attorney Romanucci said later. He called the police’s actions racist. A piñata can be a figure that children often hit with sticks until the candy falls out.
The day after the control, on January 8, the police said in a statement that there was a “clash” when the emergency services stopped the 29-year-old. He eventually fled on foot, which led to another “showdown”, police wrote, without giving any specific information. The suspect ended up complaining of shortness of breath and was taken to the hospital. There he succumbed to his wounds.
Fired five officers
The police have already released five officers involved in the operation, among other things for “excessive use of force”. Video of the incident has not yet been released, but is expected to be released in the coming weeks.
In the United States, there are regular deadly police operations of a similar nature. The case of George Floyd is representative of this: in May 2020, the African American died in a brutal police operation in Minneapolis. The case sparked nationwide protests against police violence and racism. Since then, there has always been consternation in similar cases.