*The family of Tyre Nichols has filed “an Urgent Appeal” to the United Nations, requesting global condemnation of his “torture and extrajudicial killing” by Memphis police.
“Today, we filed an Urgent Appeal before the United Nations asking it to condemn the tragic killing of Tyre Nichols, to demand transparency from the police department, and to demand that Officer Preston Hemphill and all officers that participated in the incident are criminally charged,” attorneys for the family said in a statement, The Hill reports.
EUR reported previously, via CNN, that the Memphis Police Department has terminated five Black male police officers in connection with the death of Nichols. He passed away in a hospital after being arrested by police last month, according to a post from the department’s verified Twitter account.
On January 8, the police department announced that Nichols had been pulled over by officers for reckless driving the previous day. “As officers approached the driver of the vehicle, a confrontation occurred and the suspect fled the scene on foot,” officials said in a statement posted on social media.
READ MORE: This Ex-Memphis Cop Took Photos of Brutally Beaten Tyre Nichols and Shared with Others | VIDEO
Officers pursued Nichols, 29, as they attempted to take him into custody and beat him senseless.
“Afterward, the suspect complained of having a shortness of breath, at which time an ambulance was called to the scene. The suspect was transported to St. Francis Hospital in critical condition,” officials said.
Nichols died a few days later, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The disturbing police body-cam footage was released Friday and shows him being pummeled by the cops near his mother’s home.
“The video evidence shows that all who were involved in Nichols’ death committed reprehensible acts that require international condemnation,” the family’s statement continued.
“Urgent appeals” are filed to “seek intervention to cease the violation of loss of life, life-threatening situations or ‘imminent or ongoing damage of a grave nature,’” according to the United Nations, per The Hill.
“The goal is to ensure State authorities intervene or prevent a human rights violation as quickly as possible,” The Hill reports.
The former officers linked to Tyre’s death are Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Demond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith. Each has been indicted by a grand jury on one charge of second-degree murder, one charge of aggravated assault, two charges of aggravated kidnapping, two charges of official misconduct and one charge of official oppression, per The Hill.
The post Family of Tyre Nichols Seek ‘Urgent’ Intervention from United Nations appeared first on EURweb.
