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 are facing 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 appears on camera to take Nichols to the hospital.
All times are approximate, but here's a look at the timeline in the video:
- 8:24 p.m.: The body camera worn by an officer shows the first contact police have with Nichols on Jan. 7. Multiple officers can be seen approaching Nichols’ vehicle, drawing their firearms and yelling for Nichols to get out of the vehicle. “You’re gonna get your head blown the fuck up,” one officer yells. Nichols is pulled from the car and forced to the ground amid aggressive shouting and threats of being tasered. "I'm just trying to go home,” Nichols says. “I'm not doing anything."
- 8:25 p.m.: One officer sprays Nichols in the face with pepper spray. Nichols then struggles to his feet and begins running from the officer as one another shoots a taser at him that apparently didn’t make contact. Seven minutes later, another group of police officers announce over the radio that they see Nichols and begin to pursue him on foot.
- 8:32p.m.: From body-worn camera footage, two officers can be seen on top of Nichols. Nichols is trying to speak but one of the officers tells him to “shut the fuck up.” Officers continue to hit and spray Nichols, struggling with him on the ground and telling him to give them his hands. Nichols keeps yelling “mom.”
- 8:34 p.m.: One officer tells the other police officers to “watch out,” then pulls out a collapsible police baton and yells at Nichols, “I’m going to baton the fuck out of you. Give me your fucking hands.” A police surveillance camera mounted high up on a pole captured the officer hitting Nichols multiple times with the baton. Nichols struggled back to his feet as he was being hit with the baton. Footage shows the officers continue to try to pull Nichols to the ground, punching him in the face repeatedly before Nichols falls back to his knees. Two officers can be seen on top of Nichols as he lays flat on the ground.
- 8:36 p.m.: More officers run onto the scene and two officers kick Nichols. A minute later the officers finally move away from Nichols, who continues to lay on the ground, writhing occasionally, with his hands behind his back.
- 8:38 p.m.: The officers eventually drag Nichols and prop him against a police car, occasionally flashing their flashlights on him as they mill about the area. Two officers fist-bump a minute later. At times, Nichols slumps over on his side on the ground.
- 8:41 p.m.: Two medical personnel with equipment arrive at the scene. In body worn camera footage, one person can be heard saying, “It’s going to be a while for an ambulance.” Footage shows that 21 minutes pass from when paramedics appear to arrive at 8:41 p.m. to when an ambulance finally pulls into view of the camera at 9:02 p.m.
Watch the most critical moments here:
