(CNSNews.com) – Memphis police are waiting until 7 p.m. Eastern time to release the apparently appalling and incendiary video of five black police officers beating a black motorist, reportedly for three full minutes, after a January 7 traffic stop, which is still unexplained.
Tyre Nichols died three days later of internal bleeding.
The nation’s cities, including Washington, D. C., are bracing for protests that could turn violent.
In an interview with Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis on Friday morning, CNN’s Don Lemon asked her, why wait until 7 o’clock to release the video?
“We think about the entire public, to tell you the truth,” Davis said.
“We thought about schools, we thought about business, and we felt like Friday afternoon, if there were individuals that decided they wanted to peacefully protest, at least other individuals would have, you know, gone home, schools would be out, and it wouldn’t be as disruptive as it would have been if we released it on a Wednesday afternoon.”
Davis has seen the videotape, in which Tyre Nichols cried for his mother as the five officers showed no “sense of care or concern.” Davis said she doesn’t know what sparked the confrontation, but “it’s obvious when you see this video” that tensions are “at a high level.”
“There is physical interaction between Mr. Nichols…at the very beginning as the officers are trying to get him out the car. But it’s still unknown what the original reason was for the stop in the first place.”
Once he was out of the car, Nichols ran away but was stopped again three blocks from his home.
Davis said the fact that everyone involved is black takes race out of the equation: “It takes off the table that issues and problems in law enforcement is about race, and it is not. It’s about human dignity, integrity, accountability. And the duty to protect our community.
“And as this video will show you, it doesn’t matter who’s wearing the uniform, that we all have that same responsibility. So it takes race off the table, but it does indicate to me that bias might be a factor also, you know, in the manner in which we engage the community.”
Davis said she was “outraged” when she saw the videotape the morning after Saturday night incident on January 7:
“I was — it was incomprehensible to me. It was unconscionable. And I felt that I needed to do something and do something quickly. I don’t think I’ve witnessed anything of that nature in my entire career…it was that bad.”
Davis said when the tape is released tonight, “You’re going to see acts that defy humanity. You’re going to see a disregard for life, duty of care that we’re all sworn to. And a level of physical interaction that is above and beyond what is required in law enforcement.... (Read more)
Submitted 426 days ago
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