Five police officers were charged and jailed in the United States on Thursday in the death of an African-American man after an arrest the family called brutal, according to court documents.
These Memphis police officers, a large Tennessee city, all African-American, were charged with manslaughter, assault and battery, as well as kidnapping, according to the Shelby County Jail record.
On January 7, police officers wanted to arrest Tire Nichols, a 29-year-old African-American, for a traffic violation.
As the agents approached, a “confrontation took place” and “the suspect fled,” the police said in a statement.
Following his arrest, Nichols complained of having difficulty breathing and was hospitalized. He died three days later.
There are videos of the events, which have not yet been published.
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According to Nichols’ family lawyers, “the police beat him to the point where he was unrecognizable.”
The matter finds a particular echo in a country still marked by the death of George Floyd, in May 2020, and the Black Lives Matter demonstrations, against racism and police violence.
The five accused officers were fired last week. The police internal investigation showed that they used excessive force.
Other police officers are under investigation.
The accused officers are “directly responsible for the physical violence committed against Mr. Nichols,” Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said on Wednesday, estimating that it was not “just a professional error, but a lack of humanity”.
Video of the arrest, shown to Nichols’ family, should be released in the coming days.
Faced with the possibility of demonstrations, the police chief asked not to “incite violence or destruction.”