Memphis police have released body camera footage showing the moment Tire Nichols calls his mother as he was allegedly beaten by five officers before he died.
The force released four separate videos cut into an hour-long clip.
Cerelyn Davis, the Memphis police chief, told reporters it came from “three different streams.”
She said: “It’s three different sources: a body-worn camera, an actual source at the scene where the most physical abuse you know happened, and then two other body-worn cameras by the agents of the same scene.”
Ms Davies had previously asked for calm before the video footage was made public.
“I expect you to feel what the Nichols family feels,” she said. “I expect you will feel outrage at the disregard for basic human rights.”
In the footage, a camera shows the first police stop at an intersection.
An officer yells at him ‘get the f*** out of the car’ before Mr Nichols responds: ‘I didn’t do anything.’
An officer then yells at Mr Nichols to “get down”.
Mr. Nichols calmly replies, “Okay I’m down.”
He gets up and tries to run away before the police Taser him.
The police then call for reinforcements as he flees.
A police officer has pepper spray in his eyes and continues to pour water on his face.
Footage from another camera shows police apprehending Mr Nichols and beginning to beat him.
Mr. Nichols is heard screaming for his mother as the police attack him.
The father-of-one is then pepper sprayed and punched in the face.
Cities across the country braced for large protests after the video was released. Those close to Mr Nichols have urged supporters to protest peacefully.
US President Joe Biden said in a statement: “Like so many others, I was outraged and deeply saddened to see the horrific video of the beating that resulted in the death of Tire Nichols. It is yet another another painful reminder of the deep fear and trauma, pain and exhaustion that black and brown Americans experience every day.
“My heart goes out to Tire Nichols’ family and to Americans in Memphis and across the country who mourn this extremely painful loss.”
He added: “Violence is never okay; it is illegal and destructive. I join Mr. Nichols’ family in calling for a peaceful protest.”
Mr Biden also said he spoke with Mr Nichols’ mother, RowVaughan Wells, and stepfather Rodney Wells.
He continued, “There are no words to describe the heartache and grief of losing a beloved child and a young father. Nothing can bring Mr. Nichols back to his family and the Memphis community. But Mr. and Mrs. Wells, the son of Mr. Nichols, and his entire family deserve a prompt, full and transparent investigation.”
Before it was made public, Mr Nichols’ family said the ‘very gruesome’ footage showed officers savagely beating the FedEx worker for three minutes in an assault their lawyers likened to the attack of the Los Angeles police against motorist Rodney King in 1991.
Five sacked officers, all black, have been charged with second-degree murder and other crimes, including assault, kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression, following the death of Mr Nichols .
Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who is representing his family, said when the public watches the footage they will see him calling his mother.
