By Enyichukwu Enemanna
At least five Memphis black police officers involved in the killing of a black driver, Tyre Nichols, have been sacked and charged for murder after a police investigation found they used excessive force or failed to intervene and help their victim.
The officers are Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr and Justin Smith who are between 24 and 32.
The victim was allegedly beaten up to the point of death after a traffic stop.
Nichols, 29, died in hospital three days after the confrontation in the city of Memphis, Tennessee, on 7 January.
Bodycam footage of the altercation is expected to be released.
A lawyer for the Nichols’ family who has seen the footage said, he was used as “a human pinata.”
Joe Biden, the president, called for any protests to be peaceful after the charges on Thursday.
Nichols, a father of one, was arrested after he was stopped for reckless driving, police said, before he was allegedly beaten by the officers for three minutes.
Cerelyn Davis, the Memphis police chief, has asked for calm when the video footage is made public.
David Rausch, the director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, said he was sickened by what he saw in the police body-worn camera videos.
“What happened here does not at all reflect proper policing,” he said. “This was wrong. This was criminal.”
