As per Yahoo! News: The 20 hours of video that document Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old black man, being beaten by the police and taken into custody have been postponed by a judge in Tennessee.
The court explained that the need to give attorneys for five Memphis police officers accused of killing him access to the tapes was what caused the last-minute delay.
Three days after being pulled over by the police, Mr. Nichols passed away in January.
The US Justice Department announced on Wednesday that it will look into the special police squad that picked up Mr. Nichols.
Judge James Jones Jr. of the Shelby County Criminal Court stopped the Memphis Police Department from releasing the tape, which was scheduled to happen on 8 March 2023 Wednesday.
Together with the 20 hours of video, the city also intended to provide information on the allegations and disciplinary actions that some firefighters and police officers are subject to as a result of the inquiry. However, those records were also stopped.
The judge stated in his decision that the video is “in the public interest” and will be available for dissemination “as soon as practical”.
The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that it has “confidence that the appropriate decision has been made to maintain the integrity of the current investigation”.
We’ll do our best to review the information quickly in the hopes that most of it will be made available as soon as possible.
Earlier body camera footage of the interaction with Mr. Nichols, which was made public in January, showed police officers beating Mr. Nichols up for several minutes while he screamed for his mother. They also punched, kicked, and used a Taser on him.
Nevertheless, it did not reveal why police had stopped Mr. Nichols in the first place or what they had said to the other responding officers and medical personnel who had come to help him.
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According to Memphis Police Chief Carolyn Davis, Mr. Nichols was stopped on his way home on January 7th on suspicion of reckless driving, which has not been proven.
The killing of Mr. Nichols in the US provoked widespread demonstrations against police brutality. A civil rights inquiry has already been started by the Department of Justice (DoJ).
Memphis judge blocks release 20 hours of video, documents related to Tyre Nichols investigation https://t.co/nbyhx6l2Pv
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) March 8, 2023
The Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods, or Scorpion team, which was responsible for Mr. Nichols’ arrest, as well as other departments of law enforcement across the nation, were the subject of a DoJ probe that was revealed on Wednesday.
Since Mr. Nichols’ passing, special police units—which are widespread in large cities and frequently employed to combat street crime—have come under fire.
Second-degree murder and other charges are pending against five black Scorpion Unit members in Memphis in connection with the death of Mr. Nichols. They’ve entered a not-guilty plea to the accusations.
The 50-person unit, which had previously been accused of misbehavior on multiple occasions, has subsequently been disbanded.
The DoJ stated that they will look into “certain policies and practices of the Memphis Police Department” in their investigation.
After Mr. Nichols’ passing, Memphis’ police chief asked for the review.
It will look into the department’s policies, procedures, and training on the use of force, de-escalation, and specialized police units, like the one that stopped Mr. Nichols before he was killed.
The Justice Department has heard from police chiefs across the nation who are evaluating the use of specialized units and, where used, appropriate management, oversight, and accountability for such units, according to Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. This is in response to Tyre Nichols’ tragic death.
After the assessment is over, the agency said it will share its findings and offer recommendations.
According to Jennifer Sink, chief legal officer for Memphis, seven police officers have already been dismissed, and at least another 13 are being disciplined in some way for the incident.
Also, three emergency medical personnel were fired for failing to provide Mr. Nichols with the necessary care.
In response to Mr. Nichols’ passing, Memphis passed a number of new police reforms on Tuesday.
The new regulations increase the position of citizen review committees and mandate that police only conduct traffic stops in clearly marked patrol cars.