A planned Wednesday release of additional footage from the deadly police beating of Tyre Nichols has been delayed by a court order.
The delay comes as the Department of Justice announced it would perform a review of the Memphis Police Department in the aftermath of Nichols’ death.
On January 7 Nichols sustained a beating by police that was caught on camera in what had started out as that initial traffic stop. The 29-year-old died in a hospital three days later.
In the immediate aftermath officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith, Emmit Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr. were fired. Roughly a week later all five were charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.
A Memphis official told CNN Tuesday that altogether 13 police officers have so far been targeted in the city’s internal investigation into Nichols’ death, seven of whom have been fired. Four fire department personnel have also been investigated. On January 31 the fire department had said that three EMTs had been fired for their behavior when responding to the scene of the beating.
The unreleased footage was expected to include audio of what was said after the beating and after an ambulance took Nichols to a hospital.
Meanwhile, DOJ officials have said that the review of the Memphis police’s use of force, de-escalation policies and specialized units will be handled by the department’s Collaborative Reform Initiative Technical Assistance Center, or COPS office, which has been given more than $20 billion to advance community policing in the U.S.
The COPS office is expected to issue a public report outlining its findings and recommendations after the review is completed.
