Massachusetts police superintendent calls those involved in Tyre Nichols’ murder ‘antithesis’ of what officers should be
Brutality against Tyre Nichols ‘represents clear criminality and an utter breach of the public trust’
Massachusetts state police superintendent colonel Christopher Mason has called the assault by Memphis police officers on 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, that led to his death, the “antithesis” of the police’s professional values.
“From a professional viewpoint, the actions of the defendants are an offence to every police officer who embraces their calling for what it should be – a mission to serve and protect with courage and compassion. Those who killed Mr Nichols are the antithesis of those values,” the top state police officer said in a statement on Saturday, as he called for peaceful condemnation of the murder leading to Nichols’ death.
The officer said the Massachusetts state police are dedicated to the values of accountability, integrity and protection of Constitutional rights.
“...and as such we unequivocally condemn the actions of the five former Memphis police officers involved in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols earlier this month,” the officer said.
“The brutality alleged in these indictments, and supported by the evidence described by Tennessee authorities, represents clear criminality and an utter breach of the public trust,” he added.
The police superintendent said that he is personally “as troubled by what was done to Mr Nichols as I have ever been by an act of violence to which I responded over three decades as a law enforcement officer”.
Urging public protestors to demonstrate their condemnation peacefully, the officer said: “We understand that members of the public may wish to exercise their rights of expression in response to this incident.”
“We urge anyone who does so to act peacefully and with respect for the law and their fellow citizens. In the event that there are demonstrations, the state police will protect the safety, property, and rights of all demonstrators and the public at large alike,” the superintendent said in a statement.
Officials released the bodycam footage of the deadly arrest of Nichols on Friday, a day after five police officers were charged with the man’s murder.
The footage has sparked widespread protests across Memphis and beyond. Nichols died three days after his arrest. An independent autopsy released by his family shows he suffered “extensive bleeding” before his death.
On Thursday, officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr and Justin Smith were all charged with second-degree murder.
The grainy footage captures a violent confrontation between police and Nichols, where officers can be seen using fists, batons and stun guns against him, then laughing and bragging about the arrest.
“Watch out, I’m going to baton the f*** out of you,” one officer can be heard saying on the tape.
Despite the new details in the video, an Independent initial analysis of the footage doesn’t reveal much more information about why police stopped Nichols, or the precise moment-by-moment series of events that played out between officers and the 29-year-old Black man.