Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said on Thursday that additional, unreleased footage related to Memphis police officers beating Tyre Nichols could “connect all the dots” related to the incident.
Memphis officials last week released a graphic video of a group of law enforcement officers beating Nichols during a traffic stop earlier this month. The video showed the officers — who were part of the now disbanded Scorpion unit — kicking, punching and using a baton to hit Nichols, who died as a result of his injuries three days after the encounter.
Steven Mulroy, the Shelby County prosecutor, told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Thursday that there could be up to 20 additional hours of unreleased footage related to the incident, including audio of what was said after officers beat Nichols and after the ambulance took him to the hospital. . He said the city of Memphis and the police department will dictate if and when that footage will be released, according to CNN’s report.
Crump said that the Nichols family has not seen any additional footage.
“But we were told by the city attorney that they’re prepared to let us have them as well as the public,” Crump, who is representing the Nichols family, told Blitzer. “Obviously transparency is the key.”
“We were under the impression that we got everything, but I pray with this next release, that will be everything, so we can connect all the dots,” he continued.
Seven Memphis police officers were suspended in the Nichols death investigation, and five of the officers were fired and are now facing second-degree murder charges. The Memphis Fire Department announced Monday that it also terminated two emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and a lieutenant as a result of violating “numerous” policies and protocols when they responded to Nichols’ injuries.
Nichols’ death sparked outrage across the country, leading thousands of people to protest in support of racial justice last week and pushing officials to urge Congress to pass a police reform bill.