Five former police officers charged with murder over death of motorist

Five sacked Memphis police officers have been charged with murder following the death of a black motorist who died after being arrested and beaten like a “human piñata”.

Tyre Nichols, 29, was pulled over for reckless driving and was then allegedly violently assaulted for three minutes, during which he pleaded with officers, asking: “What did I do?”

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith – all of whom are also black – were in custody on Thursday night. All five are charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.

Second-degree murder is a Class A felony punishable by 15 to 60 years in prison under Tennessee law.

After privately viewing police body cam footage of the incident, representatives for Mr Nichols’ family compared it to the infamous police beating of Rodney King, which sparked the notorious Los Angeles riots of 1992.

Tony Romanucci, one of their lawyers, called the incident “savage”.

“He was defenceless the entire time. He was a human piñata for those police officers,” Mr Romanucci said.

Video footage of the arrest has not been made public, but officials have pledged to release it as soon as Friday.

The Memphis police chief called the actions of the five officers “heinous, reckless and inhumane” and asked residents of the city to protest peacefully when video of the arrest is released to the public.

“This is not just a professional failing. This is a failing of basic humanity toward another individual,” Cerelyn Davis, the Memphis Police Director, said in a video statement.

The five officers were fired last week, but Ms Davis said other officers are still being investigated for violating department policy. In addition, she said “a complete and independent review” will be conducted of the department’s specialised units.