Tyre Nichols: No body cam footage will be released until investigation completed

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Memphis city leaders say the body camera footage from the day Tyre Nichols was injured while in police custody will not be released at this time.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland and Police Chief CJ Davis released a joint statement saying the video will not be released until after the internal investigation is complete.

“We understand and agree that transparency around the events surrounding the death of Mr. Tyre Nichols is critically important, especially the release of the video footage. Because this is an open investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), MPD has reached out to TBI and the Shelby County District Attorney, Steve Mulroy.
The video will be released publicly after the completion of the internal investigation into the actions of the officers and after the family of Mr. Nichols has had the opportunity to review the video privately.
We anticipate that MPD’s internal investigation will be completed by the end of this week. The City has spoken with Ben Crump, attorney for the family of Mr. Nichols, and we are arranging a meeting with them early next week.”
Mayor Jim Strickland and Police Chief CJ Davis

Nichols died in his hospital bed on January 10, days after two “confrontations” with police on January 7. Memphis police say they pulled Nichols over for reckless driving around 8:30 p.m. in the area of Raines Road and Ross Road.

Monday, family members and community activists as well as civil rights attorney Ben Crump called for the video to be released and for the officers to be held accountable.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is conducting a “use of force” investigation at the request of Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy.

An internal investigation by Memphis police into policy violations is also underway.

Davis said Sunday that the department is notifying officers involved of “impending administrative actions.” Action News 5 asked the City of Memphis and Memphis police to explain what “administrative actions” means. We have not heard back.

Mulroy also issued a statement Tuesday regarding the decision to not release the footage:

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