Officials in Memphis, Tennessee, released dramatic body camera footage Friday of the fatal confrontation between Tyre Nichols and five police officers.
Nichols can be heard screaming "mom" several times during the gut-wrenching clips, which appear to show officers beating and pepper-spraying him after he ran from a traffic stop arrest.
Nichols died at the age of 29 on Jan. 10, three days after the violent confrontation.
The five Memphis Police Department officers involved in his arrest -- Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith -- were fired and then charged with second-degree murder in connection with Nichols' death.
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Jan 27, 2023, 3:56 PM EST
Biden spoke with Nichols' family, has not seen video
President Joe Biden has not seen the Tyre Nichols video that’s set to be released to the public Friday evening, but the president has spoken to Nichols’ family, according to the White House.
“He’s been briefed, but he has not seen the video, nor has anyone at the White House seen the video,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Friday.
Biden spoke with Nichols’ mother and stepfather Friday afternoon to offer his condolences, a White House official said.
Jean Pierre reiterated that Biden has echoed Nichols' family's calls for calm and peaceful protests. But the White House is “in coordination with the relevant agencies to ensure they prepare if protests become violent,” she added.
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Jan 27, 2023, 3:23 PM EST
Memphis Fire Department reviewing the video
The Memphis Fire Department said it received the video of Tyre Nichols’ traffic stop on Friday and is currently reviewing the footage.
Two Memphis Fire Department employees who responded to the scene where Nichols was injured have been relieved of duty in the wake of Nichols' death.
The Memphis Fire Department said its investigation will conclude early next week.
Jan 27, 2023, 1:06 PM EST
Nichols family 'very satisfied' with charges
Tyre Nichols’ stepfather, Rodney Wells, said at a news conference Friday that he’s “very satisfied with the charges” against the five police officers, including second-degree murder.
Although Wells initially said he wanted to see the officers charged with first-degree murder, he said, “As the charges were told to us and they explained to us what the difference between murder one and murder two was, we're very satisfied with the charges.”
People attend a candlelight vigil for Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tenn., Jan. 26, 2023.
Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian via AP
Wells pleaded with the public to protest peacefully.
“We want peace. We do not want any type of uproar,” he said.
Wells added, “The family is very satisfied with the process, with the police chief, the D.A. They acted very, very quickly in this case. We are very, very pleased with that. Other cases drag on, but this is a special case. We had a special son.”
Tyre Nichols in a 2020 photo, in Conway, Ark.
Courtesy Elizabeth Cabradilla
Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, said she didn’t watch the body camera video of her son's confrontation with police and urged people to not let their children see it.
RowVaughn Wells, mother of Tyre Nichols, who died after being beaten by Memphis police officers, is comforted by Tyre's stepfather Rodney Wells, at a news conference with civil rights Attorney Ben Crump in Memphis, Tenn., on Jan. 27, 2023.
Gerald Herbert/AP
Law enforcement, Nichols’ family and the family attorneys have already seen the video that’s set to be released to the public Friday evening.
RowVaughn Wells said the five officers charged in connection to her son's death disgraced their families, but said she'll pray for them and their families.
She added, "No mother should go through what I'm going through right now. No mother. To lose their child to the violent way that I lost my child."
0:55
Mother of Tyre Nichols anguished over son’s death
Nichols, 29, died three days after an encounter with Memphis police officers during a traffic stop on Jan. 7.
Jan 27, 2023, 12:55 PM EST
Family attorney: 'This kidnapping charge -- it is terrorism'
Tyre Nichols family attorney Antonio Romanucci stressed the fact that the charges against the Memphis police officers include kidnapping.
By Tennessee law, he said, “the definition that we are dealing with here on this kidnapping charge -- it is terrorism."
"When you think of 9/11, what's the word that comes to mind? Terrorism. When you think of other heinous acts that have happened in churches across this country, any act of terrorism, what does that instill in you? That, ladies and gentlemen, is the definition that we are dealing with here on this kidnapping charge," he said at Friday's press conference. "It is terrorism. It was designed to terrorize the victim."
An undated photo of Tyre Nichols, who died after being beaten by Memphis police.
Kris Volker
Family attorney Ben Crump added, “One of the things that must be stated about the kidnapping charge … when you all see this video, you're going to see Tyre Nichols is calling out for his mom.”
“He calls out three times for his mother. His last words on this Earth is, ‘mom,’” Crump said. “When you think about that kidnapping charge, [Nichols] said, 'I just want to go home.' I mean, it's a traffic stop, for God's sake.”
2:26
Ben Crump describes Tyre Nichols' last words
The Nichols family lawyer said his last words were him repeatedly calling for his "mom."
