Tyre Nichols death: Pittsburgh police prepared for potential protests
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The police body camera video from the violent arrest of Tyre Nichols is expected to be released Friday night.
His death led to second-degree murder charges against five Memphis police officers who were fired over the incident.
Investigators and prosecutors are giving the public advanced warning that what they are about to see will be shocking in its brutality — a restrained Nichols repeatedly being hit with a Taser and beaten only to die in a hospital three days later. When the video is released, street protests could follow.
"When people actually see with their own eyes the kinds of things that occurred in this incident, there's an even greater potential for a very serious public reaction," Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said.
In Pittsburgh, which saw months of protests after the death of George Floyd in May 2020, the city's Public Safety Department released this statement on Friday:
"Pittsburgh Police are aware of planned demonstrations/gatherings in the city today in light of the expected release of the video in this case. Police are prepared for all contingencies, making it a priority to respect demonstrators' First Amendment rights while also ensuring public safety."
Activists in Pittsburgh have taken to the street in both national and local deaths in police custody, most recently the death of Jim Rogers in Bloomfield. In Memphis, the five now-former officers are charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault and official misconduct. The difference, in this case, is that both the victim and the officers are Black.
"Incidents like this show that it's not just a situation where you have white officers and Black victims or brown victims," city council candidate Khari Mosley said. "But this is a situation with African American officers and African American victims. This shows there is a systemic issue within police departments all over the country."
Mosley says the activists are cautioning protesters to be non-violent and constructive.
"We have to continue to work so we can close that gap between the community and the police department," he said. "Ultimately, we all need to work together. We can't have this situation where there is distrust between the police and the community,"
Now, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey is quiet on this case. His spokesperson said the mayor believes it is premature to comment before the video's release. But it's expected this video will provoke much reaction across the country.
