Last night, Memphis city officials released more than an hour of footage showing the deadly confrontation between Tyre Nichols and Memphis police officers earlier this month. The released materials included three body camera videos and one overhead surveillance video.
The videos appear to show the officers savagely beating Nichols, holding him down while taking turns striking him. The beating eventually lead to Nichols’ death and the arrest of five police officers.
The violence and apparent gross misconduct of the officers as shown on the video have prompted local police leaders to comment. Below are statements from Elgin Chief of Police Anna Lalley and Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain.
Chief Lalley
The video footage released yesterday by the Memphis Police Department showing the brutal and inconceivable criminal actions against Tyre Nichols by five police officers is deplorable and heartbreaking to watch.
I wholly share in the sentiment expressed by Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis that “this is a failing of basic humanity toward another individual.”
The criminal conduct of the five police officers is not remotely representative of the countless numbers of police officers throughout this country—and within the City of Elgin—who are serving their communities at the highest levels of professionalism and dedication.
The Elgin Police Department remains committed to our progressive policing policies and practices, and we know our work is never done. With the community’s help and guidance, we will continue our unwavering commitment to the city’s residents, businesses and visitors, to serve with professionalism and always showing our respect and care in our actions.
Sheriff Hain
There are so many layers to the Memphis Police incident on the initial review. First, I hope there is more information about predicating knowledge of criminal activity the officers had that has not been shared.
The second concern is police culture. The title of the unit these men were assigned to is the “Scorpion Unit” tasked with combating high crime areas. Naming a group with an aggressive title and directing their work in this manner begs for tragic incidents such as this.
Third, your KCSO is one of few agencies that requires monthly stress-induced, de-escalation, and self-defense training resulting in less use of force and proper coordination when taking someone into custody. Watching this video shows a clear gap in use of force familiarization and proper training.
I am proud to say that your law enforcement in Kane County and northern Illinois, by and large, are highly trained professionals who will not be involved in such an egregious incident, such as this in regard to the information we have received thus far.
