Dozens of people protested this Friday in front of the White House after the images of the beating that several police officers gave to a young African-American man, who died three days after the clash, were revealed. Tyrone Nichols29, died at a hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, after five police officers You will be beaten when stopped for an alleged traffic violation.
The images, which show the beating and Nichols on the ground surrounded by several officers, sparked outrage among Americans, who came out to protest against police violence in the country. Dozens of protesters, mostly young people, gathered in front of the president’s residence Joe Bidenwith signs asking for “end to police terror”“justice for Tire Nichols” and “jail up killer cops.”
“I’m sick of seeing our people die in atrocious ways, from the lack of humanity and disrespect against us blacks,” he told EFE. Nadine Sealer, 57 years old, who came to protest in the US capital. The protester, who was carrying a sign calling for consequences for the police officers who beat Nichols, said she has not seen the video, which was played by major national television networks. “It seems to me that it is pornography of violence”he pointed.
Access to the White House was closed on Friday night by federal and city security forces. There was also a large deployment of police patrols in one of the streets adjacent to Lafayette Park, located right in front of the White House.
Five of the officers who were involved in the beating were fired from police department and face a series of criminal charges in Nichols’ death. The US Attorney General, merrick garlandpromised this Friday that there will be an investigation into the death of the young man at the hands of the officers in Memphis and asked that any protests that there may be about this event be peaceful.
Sealer: “It seems to me that it is pornography of violence”
The US police have been singled out by human rights organizations for using violence disproportionately towards the black population in the country. Nearly a third of all people killed by police in the US in 2021 were African-Americans, despite being just 13% of the country’s population, according to the organization Mapping Police Violence.
Joe Biden, “outraged” at police violence
The President of the USA, Joe Bidensaid he was “outraged” and “deeply hurt” after seeing the images of the beating that several police officers gave to the African-American Nichols.
“Like many, I felt outraged and deeply hurt after watching the horrifying video of the beating that ended in death” of the 29-year-old in Memphis,” Biden said in a statement on Friday. The president acknowledged that the images, which were released this afternoon, will leave many Americans “scandalized“, but asked those who “seek justice” not to resort to violence.
Biden: “Violence is never acceptable, it is illegal and destructive”
“Violence is never acceptable, it is illegal and destructive”said the president. White House officials had a call this afternoon with the mayors of 16 cities in the country before possible protests this weekend after the Memphis police published the videos showing the beating of Nichols.
For his part, the mayor of New York, Eric Adams, who was on the call, said in a video statement posted on his social media that he was “devastated” by what happened to Nichols and called on city residents to act peacefully if they wish to protest this weekend. “If you need to express anger or outrage, do it peacefully,” he said in the video.
Adams added that the city’s Police Department is already “fully prepared” to allow residents to exercise their right to protest. The most graphic video is the one captured by a surveillance camera on a lamppost, where it is seen from above how the agents kicked, some of them in the head, and hit Nichols with a baton.
