Speciale eenheid Memphis ontbonden na politiegeweld, verslag van aanhouding

Drie weken na de gewelddadige dood van de zwarte Tyre Nichols bij een verkeerscontrole in Memphis, heeft de politie een speciale eenheid ontbonden die bij de zaak betrokken was. Deze stap is "in ieders belang", zei de politie in de Amerikaanse stad zaterdag in een verklaring. De leden van de speciale eenheid stemden "zonder voorbehoud" in met de beslissing. De familie van Nichols steunde de ontmanteling van de taskforce die in 2021 was opgericht om illegale activiteiten in buurten met veel criminaliteit te bestrijden.  

De dood van Tire Nichols zorgt al dagen voor verontwaardiging in de Verenigde Staten. De vijf politieagenten die inmiddels weer vrij zijn vrijgelaten, zijn aangeklaagd. Ze worden verdacht van het doodslaan van de 29-jarige Nichols tijdens een verkeerscontrole op 7 januari. De vijf verdachten, net als het slachtoffer van Afro-Amerikaanse afkomst, behoorden allemaal tot de inmiddels ontbonden speciale eenheid.

De agenten worden onder meer beschuldigd van doodslag, zware mishandeling en ontvoering. Doodslag is een tussenfase tussen moord en doodslag in de staat Tennessee, waar Memphis ligt. Ontvoering verwijst in dit geval naar het illegaal vasthouden van een mens. 

Op videobeelden van de aanhouding is te zien hoe politieagenten Nichols met traangas en een taserpistool tegen de grond proberen te werken. Het slachtoffer probeert te vluchten, maar de agenten weten hem opnieuw aan te houden. Later in de video ziet men Nichols liggend op de grond gezien terwijl de agenten hem herhaaldelijk slaan en schoppen terwijl hij op de grond ligt.

Tientallen demonstranten protesteerden zaterdag tegen politiegeweld in Memphis. Ze riepen op tot hervorming van de politie en tot berechting van degenen die verantwoordelijk waren voor de dood van Nichols.

In de VS veroorzaakt dodelijk politiegeweld tegen zwarte mensen keer op keer horror en verontwaardiging. Meestal - zo niet in het geval van Tire Nichols - zijn blanke politieagenten de daders. 

Zie ook: Ophef na vrijgave beelden van dodelijke arrestatie Tyre Nichols in Memphis

Uit bovenstaand artikel AP:

After the first officer roughly pulls Nichols out of a car, Nichols can be heard saying, “I didn’t do anything,” as a group of officers begins to wrestle him to the ground.

One officer is heard yelling, “Tase him! Tase him!”

Nichols calmly says, “OK, I’m on the ground.”

“You guys are really doing a lot right now,” Nichols says. “I’m just trying to go home.”

“Stop, I’m not doing anything,” he yells moments later.

Nichols can then be seen running as an officer fires a Taser at him. The officers then start chasing Nichols.

Other officers are called, and a search ensues before Nichols is caught at another intersection. The officers beat him with a baton, and kick and punch him.

Security camera footage shows three officers surrounding Nichols as he lies in the street cornered between police cars, with a fourth officer nearby.

Two officers hold Nichols to the ground as he moves about, and then the third appears to kick him in the head. Nichols slumps more fully onto the pavement with all three officers surrounding him. The same officer kicks him again.

The fourth officer then walks over, draws a baton and holds it up at shoulder level as two officers hold Nichols upright, as if he were sitting.

“I’m going to baton the f--- out you,” one officer can be heard saying. His body camera shows him raise his baton while at least one other officer holds Nichols. The officer strikes Nichols on the back with the baton three times in a row.

The other officers then appear to hoist Nichols to his feet, with him flopping like a doll, barely able to stay upright.

An officer then punches him in the face, as the officer with the baton continues to menace him. Nichols stumbles and turns, still held up by two officers. The officer who punched him then walks around to Nichols’ front and punches him four more times. Then Nichols collapses.

Two officers can then be seen atop Nichols on the ground, with a third nearby, for about 40 seconds. Three more officers then run up, and one can be seen kicking Nichols on the ground.

As Nichols is slumped up against a car, not one of the officers renders aid. The body camera footage shows a first-person view of one of them reaching down and tying his shoe.

It takes more than 20 minutes after Nichols is beaten and on the pavement before any sort of medical attention is provided, even though two fire department officers arrived on the scene with medical equipment within 10 minutes.

Throughout the videos, officers make claims about Nichols’ behavior that are not supported by the footage or that the district attorney and other officials have said did not happen. In one of the videos, an officer claims that during the initial traffic stop Nichols reached for his gun before fleeing and almost had his hand on the handle, which is not shown in the video.

After Nichols is in handcuffs and leaning against a police car, several officers say that he must have been high. Later an officer says no drugs were found in his car, and another officer immediately counters that Nichols must have ditched something while he was running away.

Authorities have not released an autopsy report, but they have said there appeared to be no justification for the traffic stop, and nothing of note was found in the car.