Newly released video from the Tyre Nichols investigation shows Memphis police officers interacting with Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, on January 7, 2023, the night Nichols was beaten by police.
Nichols would die three days later from his injuries.
In the video, Wells responds to officers telling her that Nichols was fighting with them by saying, “That’s not my son.”
Wells also tells officers her son doesn’t drink but may “do a little weed.” Wells theorizes to police that someone may have spiked Nichols’ drink with something.
A responding officer replies, “From the way he was fighting me, he had to have been on something.”
“I believe something was in his system because he had unbelievable strength,” a second officer tells Wells.
Contrary to what police were saying the night Nichols was beaten, toxicology reports showed minimal amounts of alcohol and the presence of chemicals associated with marijuana.
CNN has previously cited a report obtained by Memphis television station WMC says Nichols’ blood alcohol content was 0.049, which is below the legal limit of 0.08 in the state of Tennessee.
“We live two blocks away, he was on his way home. If he would have turned this corner, two blocks, we right at home,” Wells says near the end of her exchange with police.
Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was violently beaten by Memphis police officers on January 7, 2023, after he ran from a traffic stop, and he died January 10 in a hospital from his injuries, authorities have said.
Erica Williams, a spokesperson for Shelby County District Attorney’s Office, said Tuesday, “From the beginning we’ve favored the release of all video – provided it did not compromise the investigation.”
When asked by CNN to comment on the release, police officials replied, “As standard practice, the Memphis Police Department doesn’t comment on pending litigation.”
