The five former police officers who fatally beat the African-American Tire Nichols in Memphis, USA, are prosecuted

Five former police officers from the US city of Memphis will be prosecuted for the alleged commission of a crime of murder for the beating they gave to Tire Nichols, a 29 year old African American man who died on January 10 from the injuries caused by the agents.

Tyre Nichols died three days after Memphis Police arrested him for allegedly reckless driving with his motorcycle on January 7. The officers stopped him at a traffic stop and used force to arrest him, CNN reported.

Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean, fired from Memphis Police last week, will face charges of intentional homicide without premeditation, aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated kidnapping and two counts of misconduct.

These five ex-agents, also of African-American origin, joined the Memphis Police in the last six years. His arrest sets the stage for the release Friday afternoon of surveillance and body camera footage of his interaction with Nichols, which local authorities say could spark violence in Memphis.

Lawyers for the Nichols family have reported that he was severely beaten, citing a video the family was able to view earlier this week. Nichols had “extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating,” according to the legal team, citing preliminary results of an autopsy they commissioned, according to The Washington Post.

Likewise, the police officers who have seen the videos have strongly condemned the arrest. At a news conference Thursday announcing the criminal charges, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David B. Rausch said the agents’ actions they were “absolutely appalling”.

Nichols’ arrest and subsequent death come amid heightened scrutiny about how the Police treat black people, particularly since the murder by police officers of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020, after which the protest movement known as Black Lives Matter was born.

Biden asks Congress to pass the George Floyd law

United States President Joe Biden has emphasized the importance of not ignoring the fact that deadly encounters with law enforcement affect Black and Hispanic populations disparately, calling on Congress to move forward with the George Floyd Police Justice Act.

“Public trust is the foundation of public safety and there are still too many places in America where the bonds of trust are frayed or broken“, has asserted the US president, as collected in a statement by the White House.

In this sense, Biden has affirmed that the death of Tire “it’s a painful reminder” that more must be done to ensure that the US criminal justice system delivers “the promise of fair and just justice, with equal treatment and dignity for all.”

For “real change” to occur, according to Biden, it is important to hold people accountable when law enforcement officers break their oath. “That’s why I asked Congress to send me the George Floyd Police Justice Act.. When they didn’t, I signed an executive order that included stricter rules on the use of force and accountability provisions for federal law enforcement,” the United States president continued.

Meanwhile, the US president has urged the population to attend the protests peacefully, stressing that “violence is never acceptable.” “While Americans grieve, the Department of Justice conducts its investigation and state authorities continue their work.I join the Tire family in calling for peaceful protesta”, he stressed, assuring that “outrage is understandable, but violence is never acceptable”.