Ted Williams, former Washington, D.C., homicide detective and Fox News contributor, says the Memphis Police Department plans to release police-worn body camera footage showing the police beating of Tire Nichols on Jan. Friday nights are “very, very concerning.”
MPD is expected to release the body camera video, which Attorney General Merrick Garland described as “deeply disturbing,” around 7 p.m. The protests began on Friday night and continued throughout the weekend.
“To put this here in the dead of night, I think, it’s a disadvantage to law enforcement officers trying to enforce the law, and I think that’s very, very concerning,” Williams told Fox News Digital.
The former detective added that posting the video at night gives people, especially those in urban communities, who want to wreak havoc in cities “an advantage.”
TIRE NICHOLS’ MOTHER URGES PEACEFUL PROTESTS: ‘I DON’T WANT US TO BURN OUR CITIES down’
A portrait of Tire Nichols is displayed at a memorial service for him on Tuesday, January 17, 2023, in Memphis, Tennessee. Nichols died during a traffic stop with Memphis police on January 7. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)
(AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)
“This is the key. There are people… who are going to take advantage of the situation, and those people are all over the country,” he said, adding that he thinks posting the video “on any given morning” would have been better. to post it on Friday night, which he likened to adding fuel to “an already lit fire.”
NICHOLS TIRES: MEMPHIS POLICE BODY CAMERA VIDEO OF TRAFFIC STOP IS ‘ESPORIENT’, LAWYER SAYS AFTER REVIEW
Former police officer and Secret Service agent Michael Verden, now founder and CEO of security company The Lake Forest Group, told Fox News Digital that he believes Memphis police will likely release the video on Friday night. in an effort to give people time to get home. at the end of the business week before any possible demos begin.
“Most businesses are closed, although restaurants, retail stores, etc. are open late at night, most businesses are open from nine to five, right? You can leave safely but still have a day of productive work,” Verden said.
Police block downtown streets following a protest, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023, in Atlanta, following the death of an environmental activist killed after authorities said the 26-year-old shot a state trooper. .
(AP Photo/Alex Slitz)
The evening’s announcement may also buy time for businesses to proactively board up their windows, the former Secret Service agent said, adding that he expects “violent protests not only in Memphis but in other parts of the country.”
Tennessee Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) President Scott DeLaschmit confirmed Verden’s theory.
“First of all, we would like to say that what happened in Memphis is a tragedy. It’s a travesty, and that’s not the way officers are trained,” DeLaschmit said. “Second, I think the reason they’re releasing this video on a Friday afternoon is that there are a lot of businesses downtown, and that’s where protests usually happen, and according to the rumors we’re hearing, [Memphis PD] is looking to give businesses a couple of days before they reopen Monday morning.”
MEMPHIS POLICE DEPARTMENT FIRES 5 OFFICERS INVOLVED IN ARREST OF TIRE NICHOLS BEFORE HIS DEATH 3 DAYS LATER
Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, on Thursday night called on protesters protesting police brutality following the death of her son to remain in peace.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing her family, reviewed the body cam video earlier this week. He described the video as “appalling” and compared it to the 1991 Rodney King beating in Los Angeles.
“When that tape comes out tomorrow, it’s going to be horrible. I didn’t see it, but from what I heard, it’s going to be horrible,” Wells told a crowd that gathered Thursday at Tobey Skate Park. “But I want each and every one of you to protest in peace. I don’t want us to burn down our cities, tear up the streets because that’s not what my son stood for.”
RowVaugn Wells, second from left, becomes emotional during a news conference at Mt. Olive Cathedral CME Church after viewing footage of the violent police interaction that led to the death of her son Tire Nichols in Memphis, TN on May 23. January 2023.
(Photo by Brandon Dill for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Nichols, a black man, died at the hospital three days after five black police officers, including Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith, allegedly beat the 29-year-old man after a police stop. traffic.
On January 20, MPD announced the firing of the five officers involved in the incident for violating “multiple departmental policies, including excessive use of force, the duty to intervene, and the duty to render assistance,” said MPD chief, CJ Davis, in a press release. at the time. All five were hired between 2017 and 2020.
MEMPHIS POLICE OFFICERS CHARGED WITH KILLING TIRE NICHOLS RELEASED FROM JAIL AFTER POSTING BAIL
former officers They turned themselves in and each was charged with seven counts, including one count of second-degree murder, one count of aggravated assault, one count of official oppression, and two counts of aggravated kidnapping and official misconduct. The five officers were also released on bail as of Friday afternoon.
Memphis Police Department officers Demetrius Haley, Tadarrius Bean, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills and Justin Smith were fired Jan. 18 for their roles in the arrest of the late Tire Nichols.
(Memphis Police Department)
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division also opened an investigation into the incident on January 18.
“As this is an open investigation, we are unable to provide additional comment or release any further information at this time,” U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee Kevin Ritz said in a statement at the time.
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Nichols was a FedEx worker, skateboarder, photographer and father, according to Crump.
“He loved his son. All he was trying to do was get better as a father to his 4-year-old son,” the civil rights attorney said.
