CNN
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The initial Memphis police statement on the events of January 7 was vague.
There had been a “confrontation” between officers and a driver suspected of reckless driving, police said. The suspect fled the scene on foot, and another “confrontation occurred” as officers tried to take him into custody, the statement said.
“Afterward, the suspect complained of having a shortness of breath, at which time an ambulance was called to the scene,” police said. He was in critical condition, police said, and died three days later.
Videos of the arrest show what that second “confrontation” actually entailed: Officers with the police department’s specialized SCORPION team punched, kicked, pepper-sprayed and used a baton on Tyre Nichols while he was restrained.
After the beating, as Nichols lay slumped and motionless against a car, officers walked around…
