Protesters are seen outside the nation’s capital Friday night after footage emerged showing the police killing of Tire Nichols.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
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Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
Protesters are seen outside the nation’s capital Friday night after footage emerged showing the police killing of Tire Nichols.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
Numerous, mostly peaceful, protests took place across the United States after body camera footage of the Tire Nichols murder emerged on Friday. The five officers involved in Nichols’ arrest were fired and charged with second-degree murder, assault and kidnapping earlier this week.
Protests in some cities have led to the National Guard being called in, while others have affected public transit.
In Memphis, where Nichols died, a group of protesters gathered in a downtown park and then took to the streets, closing the I-55 bridge over the Mississippi River between Memphis and West Memphis. They chanted “no justice, no peace” and “justice for Tyre”, closing the bridge for almost three hours before dissolving peacefully.
In other parts of Memphis, people gathered in churches or in small groups to reflect on the city’s heartbreaking and dark moment.
Officials close Grand Central Station in anticipation of protests in New York, where protesters had gathered in Times Square. A demonstration and a march in Boston traffic interrupted.
A protest in downtown Los Angeles became tense when a small group of protesters gathered outside the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters, which was blocked by police in riot gear, according to the Los Angeles Times. Protesters tore down the city a protective barricade around the building, but there were no immediate reports of arrests.
Other small but mostly peaceful protests also took place in Washington, DC, Seattle, Detroit and Atlanta, as well as other cities.
Officials had braced for nationwide protests in the days before the footage was released. President Joe Biden called the videos “horrible”, while Antonio Romanucci, an attorney representing the Nichols family, said the 29-year-old was treated like a “human piñata”.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency this week, and members of the National Guard can be seen in Atlantatrying to rein in protesters. People could also be seen demonstrating outside the White House hours after Biden urged citizens “not to resort to violence or destruction.”
Also on Friday, White House officials also spoke with the mayors of more than a dozen major cities — such as Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Chicago — to brief them on federal assistance.
Nichols’ family, including his mother, RowVaughn Wells, and stepfather, Rodney Wells, have asked protesters to remain peaceful.
“I don’t want us to burn cities, destroy our streets, because that’s not what my son stood for,” Wells said at a vigil for his son on Thursday.
Organizers are planning vigils, marches and demonstrations across the United States over the weekend.
Reporting by NPR’s Debbie Elliott was included in this article.
