Memphis, Tennessee, police officers beat motorist Tyre Nichols for three minutes, treating him like “a human piñata” in a “savage” encounter reminiscent of the 1991 beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King, legal representatives for the family have said.
Lawyer Ben Crump said police video viewed by the family on Monday showed that Mr Nichols was shocked, pepper-sprayed and restrained after the 29-year-old FedEx worker and father was pulled over near his home while returning from a suburban park where he had been taking photos of the sunset.
Mr Nichols was black. All five officers involved in the incident were also black.
Mr Crump said that this was irrelevant, that black and brown motorists are often treated differently to whites regardless of the officers’ race, and that the pain of Mr Nichols’s death “is just the same”.
He added that Mr Nichols’s family had agreed to investigators’ request to wait a week or two before making the video public to “make sure to give this family what they want most, and that is justice”.
Shelby County District Lawyer Steve Mulroy said in a statement on Monday that investigators did not want to risk compromising the investigation.
Mr Crump said the video shows the encounter was “violent” and “troublesome on every level”.
Another lawyer, Antonio Romanucci, called it “savage” and out of proportion to the alleged offence.
The city has been on edge about the release of the police footage because of the possibility of unrest.
Mr Nichols’s stepfather, Rodney Wells, asked that if there are protests, that they remain peaceful, saying violence “is not what Tyre wanted and won’t bring him back”.
Described by family as a “good kid” who loved skateboarding, photography and his four-year-old son, Mr Nichols was arrested after officers stopped him for reckless driving.
Police said in a statement the day after the encounter that “a confrontation occurred” as officers approached the vehicle and Mr Nichols ran. They said officers caught up to him and that “another confrontation occurred” while they were taking him into custody.
They added that Mr Nichols had complained of shortness of breath and was taken to hospital, where he died three days later.
Relatives have accused the police of beating Mr Nichols and causing him to have a heart attack and kidney failure.
Authorities have only said that Mr Nichols experienced a medical emergency.
The US Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into the arrest and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is looking into whether excessive force was used.
Memphis police Director Cerelyn Davis announced on Friday that the five officers involved in the arrest were fired after an investigation had determined that they used excessive force or failed to intervene and render aid.
Mr Wells, who said the family want the officers charged with first-degree murder, told reporters that his stepson had good reason to run from the officers.
“Our son ran because he was scared for his life,” Mr Wells said. “And when you see the video, you’ll see why he was scared for his life.”
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
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