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The Memphis Grizzlies have given their support to ‘one of its own’ Tyre Nichols after he was killed.
The NBA team’s statement comes as horrific bodycam footage of five police cops fatally beating Nichols following a traffic stop for purported reckless driving was released.
Nichols died in hospital on January 10, three days after being beaten by the officers. The video released on Friday night shows the 29-year-old crying out for his mother multiple times during the brutal January 7 assault, which took place just a few blocks from his home.
Tyre Nichols is pictured in hospital. The 29-year-old from Memphis died on January 10 from cardiac arrest and kidney failure, three days after he was pulled over for reckless driving by police in unmarked cars
Memphis Grizzlies have given their support to ‘one of its own’ Nichols after he was killed
WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE AND DISTURBING CONTENT
The Memphis Police Department has released harrowing bodycam footage of five police officers fatally beating Nichols
‘We are distraught to find ourselves dealing with a needless loss of life due to police brutality, and this time it was one of Memphis’s own,’ the Grizzlies statement read Friday.
‘We’re thinking of the Nichols family and friends, and share the pain being felt throughout our community.
‘So, let’s support each other and respect how our fellow Memphians are coping. We have faith in this city and our power to heal.
‘To the Nichols family and friends, we offer our deepest sympathies and condolences for your loss.’
Nichols can be heard screaming ‘Mom! Mom!’ as he is pinned to the ground by multiple cops, hit with pepper spray in the face, kicked and punched in the head, and struck with a metal baton.
The video shows police rained at least nine blows down on the FedEx worker while screaming profanities throughout the nearly four-minute altercation.
Even after paramedics arrived, a handcuffed Nichols remained slumped over on the pavement for nearly half an hour without significant medical intervention.
Two officers hold Nichols to the ground as he moves about, and then the third appears to kick him in the head. Nichols slumps more fully onto the pavement with all three officers surrounding him. The same officer kicks him again.
The officer who used the pepper spray then extends a telescoping metal baton, shouting, ‘I’m gonna baton the f*** out of him!’ before striking Nichols three times in the back.
Several of the officers are seen propping Nichols up on his feet as one and punches his face. Nichols stumbles and turns, still held up by two officers.
The officer who punched him then walks around to Nichols’ front and punches him three more times. Then Nichols collapses.
‘Mom! Mom!’ screams Nichols as he is pinned to the ground by multiple officers following a foot chase, pepper sprayed in the face, and kicked and punched
Another view from a nearby surveillance camera appears to show Nichols sitting unresponsive after the assault
Paramedics arrive on the scene as Nichols, handcuffed, appears unable to sit up on his own
Charged with second degree murder are (top, left to right) Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, and (bottom, left to right) Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith
Nichols is seen lying on the pavement for more than 19 minutes as at least eight cops mill around the scene, flushing pepper spray out of their own eyes.
Nearly half an hour after the assault, an ambulance finally pulls up and a stretcher is unloaded to transport Nichols.
All five officers involved in the killing were charged with second-degree murder, with the district attorney saying that though they all played different roles, ‘they are all responsible.’
Police across the nation were bracing for potential violent unrest in response to the graphic and highly disturbing footage that was made public.
Nichols, 29, died in hospital on January 10, three days after a traffic stop that ended with him being severely injured
The clips released Friday are over an hour long and includes video from three body-worn cameras and one surveillance camera mounted on a utility pole.
Those who have seen the video compared it to the footage of Rodney King.
A bystander filmed LAPD officers beating King with batons in 1991, and their acquittal the following year sparked six days of rioting in Los Angeles as racial tensions boiled over.
In King’s case, the officers involved were white, while the five officers charged with murdering Nichols, a black man, are themselves black.
Memphis’s elite basketball team took to the court on the road Friday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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