Former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump inadvertently found common ground over the weekend, separately condemning the murder of Tyre Nichols after video footage showed police savagely beating him and not providing medical aid.
Nichols, a 29-year-old black man, died on Jan. 10 as a direct result of injuries caused by Memphis Police officers during what they claimed to be a traffic stop for reckless driving. Video of the incident, taken on Jan. 7 and released Friday night, showed officers aggressively yanking Nichols from his car and wrestling him to the ground without making any efforts to interact peacefully. He could be heard saying “I didn’t do anything,” before being pepper sprayed and tased as officers shouted profanities.
A traumatized Nichols then ran away, sparking a police chase. Once caught mere blocks from his home, surveillance footage shows the officers savagely beating the FedEx worker and aspiring photographer, who calls out for his mother while taking repeated kicks to the head.
‘OUTRAGED AND DEEPLY PAINED’: BIDEN REACTS TO TYRE NICHOLS VIDEOS
After the savage beating ends, the officers are seen fist-bumping and celebrating their actions while Nichols is seen propped up against a police car, at times even taunting the man as he struggled to not fall over. Paramedics arrive within 10 minutes of when the assault ended, but Nichols is not given any medical attention for 22 minutes. Officers could be heard throughout that time bragging about hits they took and making claims about Nichols’ behavior that were not corroborated by the video footage.
The incident has sparked a national conversation about policing in the United States and the potential need for reforms.
Trump decried the attack as “horrible” in a pair of interviews aboard his plane on Saturday after campaigning in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
“I thought it was terrible. He was in such trouble. He was just being pummeled. Now that should never have happened,” Trump told the Associated Press. He told the outlet that Nichols calling out for his mother was “a very sad moment. That was really the point that got me the most, to be honest with you.”
Trump echoed the same message to the Wall Street Journal, saying, “The video was pretty graphic. Unless there’s something that isn’t shown, it would certainly be a terrible thing that they did, terrible.”
In a joint tweet with former First Lady Michelle Obama, the 44th president called Nichols’ killing a “painful reminder” for America and called for police reform.
“The vicious, unjustified beating of Tyre Nichols and his ultimate death at the hands of five Memphis police officers is just the latest, painful reminder of how far America still has to go in fixing how we police our streets,” the Obama’s said in a statement posted to Twitter.
They said that responsibility falls on all people to “mobilize for lasting change” and included a link to an Obama Foundation webpage promoting ways for communities to “reimagine public safety.”
While calling it a “strong step” to disband the SCORPION unit, the street crimes force that the ex-officers were assigned to, Trump told the AP, “Look, the tape was perhaps not totally conclusive but, to me, it was pretty conclusive and it was vicious and violent and hard to believe — over a traffic violation.”
Asked if the incident should lead to implementing police reforms, however, Trump stopped short of endorsing sweeping changes.
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“At the same time you have to stop crime,” he said. “So it’s sort of like individual people. You have to get the right people that know when you have to be tough and when not to be tough. This was a case of being very, very tough — overly, overly crazy.”
“He was begging for his mother,” he added. “That’s not a question of reform, that’s a question of having people that understand what you have to do and understand life.”
Five of the Memphis Police officers involved in the attack have been charged with second-degree murder, two counts of official misconduct, one count of official oppression, aggravated assault-act in concert, and two counts of aggravated kidnapping. Nichols’ family has advocated for charges for others involved in the incident, including officers and sheriff’s deputies who allegedly neglected to deescalate the situation and paramedics who failed to provide Nichols with aid for over 20 minutes.
