MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Hours of additional video footage from the deadly police beating of Tyre Nichols was released by the City of Memphis Tuesday morning.
The footage contains hours of not-before-seen content from several different angles, which was previously held as evidence in the deadly traffic stop on Jan. 7, 2023.
The city had planned to release on March 8 about 20 hours of additional video, audio and documents related to the arrest. But the release was put on hold the next day after Jones granted a motion to delay from defense attorneys.
GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING: The contents of this video show extreme police violence and are highly disturbing in nature. It also depicts heavy use of profanity. Viewer discretion is strongly advised.
The City of Memphis released the footage on their online portal. You can view that footage HERE.
In a statement to ABC24, the Shelby County District Attorney General's Office said, "From the beginning, we’ve favored the release of all video provided it did not compromise the investigation. We won’t comment on its probative value but are confident overall that the charges filed are appropriate and we can prove our case. We’re determined to see that justice is done for Tyre Nichols."
Civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, who represent Nichols' family, said in a statement, "As our legal team reviews the new body cam videos of Tyre Nichols' horrific death at the hands of Memphis Police, we expect the videos to affirm what we have said from day one: that there was absolutely no justification for the officers' brutal and inhumane actions. We will continue our unflinching look at this tragedy and stand strongly with Tyre's family in their continued grief and fight for justice."
Memphis Mayor Paul Young said in a statement, "Obviously, this is painful for all of us. The release of this material – the additional video and audio files released today, and the documents that will be released soon – will be an important step in the continued healing of our community. We expect to be able to release the documents beginning in two weeks. As this is an ongoing legal matter, there is nothing else we can add at this time, but we do hope this release shows that we are committed to continued transparency."
Previously, Prosecutor Paul Hagerman and defense attorneys agreed that most police personnel records that pre-dated Nichols' beating could be released. But they both also agreed that the media must not get so called Garrity statements, which stem from investigative interviews given by the officers to Memphis Police Department administrators after Nichols' beating.
Garrity statements are not allowed to be used at trial against defendants.
This latest order says any information in the possession of the City of Memphis and Shelby County governments not categorized as Garrity information may be released.
This all comes after word from the Shelby County District Attorney and the U.S. Department of Justice that one of the five officers charged, Desmond Mills, would plead guilty to state and federal charges, with a recommendation of 15 years in prison on the state murder charge.
The federal charges against Mills concern his excessive use of force when he and four other charged officers beat Tyre Nichols on Jan. 7, 2023, and refused to give him medical aid. He is also accused of lying to his supervisors about the beating.
The other four former Memphis Police officers charged with second-degree murder in connection with Nichols' death are Emmitt Martin III, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean.
They have pleaded not guilty to criminal charges including second-degree murder in the beating of Nichols after a traffic stop that was caught on video— and his death three days later. Nichols died of blows to his head, and the manner of death was homicide, an autopsy report released May 4 showed.
In addition to the officers fired and charged with murder, one white officer who was involved in the initial traffic stop has been fired but will not face charges. Another officer, who has not been identified, was also fired. An additional officer retired before he could be fired.
Three Memphis Fire Department emergency medical technicians were fired for failing to render aid to Nichols. Two Shelby County Sheriff's Office deputies who went to the location after the beating were suspended for five days for policy violations.