Former President Donald Trump joined a chorus of people reacting to graphic footage from a body camera of five Memphis police officers who repeatedly beat 29-year-old Tyre Nichols. it was done.
“I thought it was terrible. He was so embarrassed. He was just being beaten. Now that should never have happened,” Trump said in an interview with The Associated Press on Saturday.
Footage shows officers punching, kicking, pepper spraying and tasting Nichols, a 29-year-old black father and delivery driver, after a January 7 traffic stop. .
He died three days later on January 10th. A policeman was charged with his murder.
Tyre Nichols’ last words heard in newly released body cam footage: ‘I’m just trying to get home’
Former President Donald Trump speaks during an election event at the South Carolina State Capitol in Columbia, South Carolina, Saturday, January 28, 2023.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump, who is running for the White House in 2024, said it was especially difficult to hear Nichols repeatedly calling out to his mother during the attack.
“To be honest, that was the point that really got me the most,” the former president said.
Trump said the Memphis Police Department was taking “strong steps” to disband the SCORPION police force involved in attacks designed to target violent criminals in high-crime areas. SCORPION stands for Street Crimes Operation to restore peace in the neighborhood.
Tennessee Sheriff Launches New Investigation Into Two Deputies After Release Of Tire Nichols Bodycam Video
Officials in Memphis said they had suspended operations “permanently” as a result of the January 7 incident.
Trump also called the video “pretty conclusive” because the officer has been charged with murder.
He also suggested that a traffic violation was not the motive for the police beating.
The tape probably wasn’t entirely conclusive, but to me it was pretty conclusive, vicious, violent and unbelievable… about traffic violations.
WARNING: The content of the video below is graphic.
Trump has previously deterred and condemned the violent protests that erupted across the country following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in the summer of 2020.
“When the looting starts, the shooting starts,” Trump tweeted, sparking a backlash. The tweet was flagged by Twitter as glorifying violence.
Quick reaction after Tyre Nichols police footage was released. ‘These men were street fighting,’ ex-cop says
The former president defended his comments as trying to discourage escalation, rather than calling for the looters to be shot.
He then focused his 2020 re-election candidacy on “law and order” and supporting law enforcement.
![Former President Donald Trump reacted to graphic footage from a Memphis police officer's body camera punching his 29-year-old black father, Tyre Nichols.](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/01/640/320/GettyImages-1230450418.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Former President Donald Trump reacted to graphic footage from a Memphis police officer’s body camera punching his 29-year-old black father, Tyre Nichols.
(Brendan Smiarowski/AFP via Getty Images)
While in office, Trump signed an executive order encouraging better police practices.
Former President Barack Obama also reacted to Tire Nichols’ body camera footage.
In a joint tweet, Barack and Michelle Obama said Nichols’ death was a “painful memory” for America.
“The vicious and unjust beating of Tyre Nichols and his eventual death by five Memphis police officers is a poignant reminder of how far America still has to go to fix the way we police our streets. It’s something to do,” the couple said.
President Joe Biden also made a video address.
“My heart goes out to the Tyre Nichols family and to the American people in Memphis and across the country who are grieving this tremendously painful loss. Words to describe the heartbreak and grief of losing a beloved child and young father are: No,” he wrote in a Friday night statement.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.