The five officers or lawyers for them have pleaded with the public to avoid a rush to judgment. It strikes me that Memphis is about to go through what many cities in the US, like Minneapolis and Ferguson and Baltimore, have gone through after a case like this. Rick: What happens with the trial, what happens ultimately with the police department? We'll be right back.
This episode contains descriptions of violence and strong language.
Tyre Nichols was a 29-year-old Black man who lived in Memphis. His mother described him as living a simple and pleasant life. He worked for FedEx, loved to skateboard, was an amateur photographer and had a 4-year-old son.
On the evening of Jan. 7, after a traffic stop, Mr. Nichols was violently beaten by the police, sustaining severe injuries. He died on Jan. 10.
For weeks, what exactly had happened was unclear. This weekend, videos of the encounter were released.
Guest: Rick Rojas, the Southern bureau chief for The New York Times.
Background reading:
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.