Dozens of people protested in front of the White House on Friday after the images of the beating that several police officers gave to the young African-American, Tire Nichols, who died three days after the attack, were revealed.
Nichols, 29, died at a hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, after five police officers beat him while stopping him for an alleged traffic violation.
The images, which show the beating and Nichols on the ground surrounded by several officers, sparked outrage among Americans, who came out to protest against police violence in the country.
Dozens of protesters, mostly young people, gathered outside President Joe Biden’s residence, holding signs calling for “end police terror,” “justice for Tire Nichols” and “jail up killer cops.”
“I’m sick of seeing our people die in atrocious ways, from lack of humanity and disrespect against us blacks,” Nadine Sealer, 57, told EFE, who came to protest in the US capital.
Sealer, who was holding a sign calling for consequences for the police officers who beat Nichols, said he has not seen the video, which was played by major national television networks.
“It seems to me that it is pornography of violence,” he said.
Access to the White House was closed on Friday night by federal and city security forces.
There was also a large deployment of police patrols in one of the streets adjacent to Lafayette Park, located right in front of the White House.
Five of the officers involved in the beating of Nichols have been fired from the police department and face a series of criminal charges in Nichols’ death.
The attorney general of the United States, Merrick Garland, promised that there will be an investigation into the death of Nichols at the hands of five police officers in Memphis and called for any protests that may take place over this event to be peaceful.
The United States Police has been pointed out by human rights organizations for using violence disproportionately towards the black population in the country.
Nearly a third of all people killed by police in the United States in 2021 were African-Americans, despite being only 13% of the country’s population, according to the organization Mapping Police Violence.
Also read:
- Joe Biden “outraged” at video of police beating young African-American Tire Nichols
- “Mom!” was the desperate cry of an African-American as five officers in Memphis bludgeoned him to death.
- ‘Failure of human decency’: New York condemns video on the death of Tire Nichols in the face of police abuse in Memphis