A Timeline of Tyre Nichols’s Lethal Police Encounter
Video footage released by the City of Memphis on Friday shows how Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, suffered a severe beating after being pulled over at a traffic stop by officers of the Scorpion unit on Jan. 7. Mr. Nichols died three days later.
An annotated satellite image of the Memphis neighborhood where Tyre Nichols was fatally beaten by police officers shows a timeline of the encounter, from the traffic stop to the beating.
About 8:21 p.m.
Tyre Nichols is pulled over.
Nichols’s
mother’s
house
About 8:27 p.m.
Nichols runs toward
his mother’s house.
About 8:36 p.m.
Officers beat Nichols for
about three minutes.
About 8:21 p.m.
Tyre Nichols is pulled over.
Nichols’s
mother’s
house
About 8:27 p.m.
Nichols runs toward
his mother’s house.
About 8:36 p.m.
Officers beat
Nichols for about
three minutes.
The New York Times; aerial image by Google
Here are some key moments from the encounter. The footage includes extremely violent scenes.
About 8:24 p.m. Police confront Tyre Nichols at a traffic stop.
Officers pull Mr. Nichols over near the intersection of East Raines Road and Ross Road. Officers push Mr. Nichols to the ground. As officers try to detain him, Mr. Nichols can be heard saying, “I didn’t do anything.”
From video released by the City of Memphis
The Memphis Police Department initially said that Mr. Nichols had been stopped on suspicion of reckless driving. However, the Memphis police chief, Cerelyn Davis, said in an interview with NBC that the department had not been able to confirm why Mr. Nichols had been stopped.
About 8:25 p.m. The first struggle occurs and Mr. Nichols flees.
Officers appear to tase Mr. Nichols. He breaks free and starts running south on Ross Road, with at least two officers running after him on foot.
Frame from video released by the City of Memphis
About 8:29 p.m. Backup arrives.
At least two police cars arrive, and officers ask for Mr. Nichols’s location.
An officer on an audio recording from the Memphis police dispatch can be heard asking for backup: “Any other Scorpion car: Pull over to East Raines and Ross. We have one running on foot.”
About 8:33 p.m. Officers beat Mr. Nichols repeatedly.
At least three officers physically assault Mr. Nichols, and several other officers arrive at the scene. “You want to get sprayed again?” one asks Mr. Nichols. At least three officers slap and punch Mr. Nichols, who screams, “Mom!”
“Hit him!” one officer yells as another beats Mr. Nichols with a baton.
From video released by the City of Memphis
About 8:37 p.m. Mr. Nichols is handcuffed.
Mr. Nichols is eventually handcuffed. He is critically injured and can be seen propped up against a car as medical help arrives. He remains at the car for more than 25 minutes as officers walk around, talking.
About 9:18 p.m. Mr. Nichols is transported to St. Francis Hospital.
Mr. Nichols complains of shortness of breath and is taken to St. Francis Hospital, about six miles away. An autopsy report later found that he “suffered excessive bleeding caused by a severe beating.”
Five police officers who were involved — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith — were fired. The officers, who are Black, were charged on Thursday with second-degree murder and kidnapping, among other charges.
Several officials have criticized the excessive use of force, and a separate federal civil rights investigation is also underway. Mr. Davis, the Memphis police chief, described the incident in a news conference as “heinous, reckless and inhumane.”
Mayor Jim Strickland of Memphis announced on Friday that the Scorpion unit, whose members were responsible for the death of Mr. Nichols, had been inactive since the incident, and that all Memphis Police Department special units were facing independent review.
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