The family scheduled a press conference with their lawyers on Friday to discuss recent developments in the case.
“Our family is grieving right now and this is very hard to take,” Wells said at a candlelight vigil in Memphis’ Tobey Park on Thursday night.
Wells warned about the content of the video, calling it «horrifying» and calling on people to protest in peace after it was posted. «I don’t want us to burn down our cities, tear up the streets, because that’s not what my son stood for,» he said.
Romanucci described the video Monday as an «unadulterated, brazen, non-stop beating» for three minutes. Crump has said that he reminded him of «the Rodney King video», referring to a 1991 bystander video of LAPD officers beating a black man.
«What we can tell you about the video: It’s horrifying, it’s deplorable, it’s egregious…violent,» Crump said. «And it’s very problematic on every level, because you have to ask yourself, again, we’re seeing evidence of what happens to black and brown people in simple traffic stops.»
President Joe Biden said in a statement Thursday that the Nichols family deserves a «prompt, full and transparent investigation.»
“Tyre’s death is a painful reminder that we must do more to ensure our criminal justice system delivers on the promise of fair and impartial justice, equal treatment, and dignity for all,” Biden said.
He also urged that the protests in the coming days be peaceful and acknowledged that «the outrage is understandable.»
Five officers involved in the case — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith — were fired last week after an administrative investigation found they violated the department’s use-of-force policy.
More coverage of Tire Nichols
All five officers were charged Thursday. Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy told reporters that his actions resulted in Nichols’ death.
Mulroy said that after an «initial altercation» when «pepper spray was deployed,» Nichols fled from officers.
“There was another altercation at a nearby location, where Mr. Nichols sustained serious injuries,” Mulroy continued. «After a period of waiting time, an ambulance took him away.»
Martin, Smith and Bean were charged with second-degree murder, three counts of official misconduct, two counts of aggravated kidnapping and one count of concerted action to commit aggravated assault, according to Shelby County jail records.
Mills and Haley were charged with second-degree murder, two counts of official misconduct, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, one count of official oppression, and one count of concerted action to commit aggravated assault.
Two of the officers, Mills and Smith, posted $250,000 bond and were released Thursday night. Haley, Martin and Bean remained in custody Thursday night, jail records showed. But as of early Friday morning, jail records showed only Haley remained behind bars.
Multiple attempts to reach the officers for comment since they were fired have been unsuccessful.
Lawyers for Mills and Martin did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday, and it was not clear if the others had legal representation.
Police Chief CJ Davis described the incident as «appalling, reckless and inhumane» in a video statement Wednesday night.
“I hope you feel what the Nichols family feels,” he said. «I hope he is outraged by the disregard for basic human rights, as our police officers have sworn to do the opposite of what occurred in the video.»
Preliminary findings in an autopsy by a forensic pathologist for Nichols’ family show that he was severely beaten before he died, attorneys for the family said. The Shelby County Medical Examiner’s Office has not released an official cause of death.
Nichols’ case is being investigated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the US Department of Justice, which has launched a civil rights investigation into the traffic stop.
david k li Y Deon J. hampton contributed.