Family say Tyre Nichols was beaten ‘like a human piñata’ in Memphis police ‘murder’

High-profile attorney Ben Crump called bodycam footage of his death “appalling, deplorable and heinous.”

Five Memphis police officers who left a Black motorist with fatal injuries after a brutal three-minute beating treated him like a “a human piñata,” the family’s lawyer says.

Tyre Nichols’ death during a traffic stop on 7 January has led to calls from his family for the officers involved to be charged with murder.

During a press conference on Monday, high-profile civil rights lawyer Ben Crump described bodycam footage of the incident as “troublesome on every level”, according to the Associated Press.

“(It) is appalling. It is deplorable. It is heinous,” Mr Crump said.

Family gathered to watch the video hours prior to its public release, and Mr Crump said it reminded him of the 1991 beating of Rodney King by LAPD officers.

“Unlike Rodney King, Tyre didn’t survive,” Mr Crump told reporters, according to the AP.

“He was a human piñata for those police officers,” another family attorney Antonio Romanucci said of the three-minute beating.

The bodycam footage will be released to the public in about a week, lawyers said.

Memphis police said Nichols was pulled over for reckless driving on 7 January and tried to run from officers, according to Fox13.

Officers had what they described as two “confrontations” with Nichols, a 29-year-old father and FedEx worker.

He was taken to hospital suffering from shortness of breath, and died three days later.

Five Memphis police officers have been fired over Tyre Nichols’ death. From left; Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills, Jr., Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean. (via REUTERS)

Police have said only that he died after suffering a medical emergency.

His relatives say he suffered a heart attack that was brought on by the assault, according to the AP.

On Friday, five officers identified as Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills, Jr. and Justin Smith, were fired for excessive force and failing to render aid, Memphis Police chief Cerelyn Davis announced in a statement.

“The egregious nature of this incident is not a reflection of the good work that our officers perform, with integrity, every day,” Ms Davis said.

The Justice Department has also launched a civil rights investigation into Nichols’ death.

And the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is also investigating a claim that excessive force was used.