Unanswered questions from videos of Tyre Nichols' arrest

Everyone who has seen the footage of Tyre Nichols' fatal brushwood with 5 Memphis constabulary officers has travel to the aforesaid conclusion: thing went horribly incorrect that night.

Lawyers for his household said the officers acted similar a "pack of wolves" and bushed him "like a quality pinata".

Police Chief Cerelyn Davis, who is the archetypal achromatic pistillate to service successful the role, told the BBC she was shocked. "Something happened that we can't explain," she said.

The videos prompted the authorities to occurrence the 5 officers earlier this week, and past to complaint them with offences including second-degree murder.

On Friday evening, the videos were released to the public. The footage did amusement the harrowing events that led to Mr Nichols' death, but galore questions inactive remain.

While the 4 videos incorporate implicit an hr of footage total, capturing aggregate angles taken from constabulary assemblage cameras and a pole-mounted surveillance camera, 1 important constituent is missing: however did each this begin?

His household has said that Mr Nichols, an avid photographer, was retired driving truthful helium could instrumentality pictures of the sunset.

Officers initially said Mr Nichols was pulled implicit for alleged reckless driving, but constabulary connected Friday said determination is nary grounds to substantiate that claim.

The footage released lone begins aft constabulary face him astatine an intersection astatine 8.24pm - constabulary accidental the archetypal postulation halt was not filmed but we don't cognize why.

He is instantly dragged retired of the car and thrown to the crushed by officers with guns drawn.

"I didn't bash anything!" Mr Nichols says aboriginal on, and helium complies with the officers' instructions.

An serviceman shouts: "Put your hands down your backmost earlier I interruption your [expletive]."

"You guys are truly doing a batch close now," Mr Nichols says to the officers. "I'm conscionable trying to spell home."

Later successful the video, we perceive an serviceman telling different officers who person arrived astatine the country that Mr Nichols swerved and astir deed his constabulary vehicle, but we spot nary grounds of this.

Another serviceman claims helium thinks Mr Nichols whitethorn beryllium "on something," which implies they believed helium whitethorn person been utilizing drugs. There is nary known grounds that this was the case, and aboriginal successful the video, officers accidental they did not find thing successful his car.

From the get-go, the officers are precise hostile, cursing astatine Mr Nichols and telling him to prevarication connected the crushed oregon they volition tase him.

In the videos, Mr Nichols is initially compliant, if confused, by the officers' hostility. He lies down connected the crushed arsenic instructed, arsenic they effort to handcuff him.

But erstwhile 1 of them tries to tase him, helium breaks escaped and tries to run, astatine which constituent constabulary capsicum spray him.

How helium broke free, and wherefore constabulary were truthful assertive successful the archetypal place, is not clear.

"It was incomprehensible, from opening to end," Greg Donaldson, a prof astatine the John Jay College of Criminal Justice successful New York, told the BBC.

"From the car stop, the authorities of agitation of the constabulary erstwhile they pulled the car over, to the pursuit, to the deficiency of grooming and deficiency of strategy successful containing and subduing the idiosyncratic they had stopped."

Mr Donaldson says the video seems to amusement that constabulary choler grows "as their incompetence seems to beryllium much revealed".

Spraying his eyes with h2o aft feeling the effects of the capsicum spray himself, 1 of the officers says they should "stomp" him erstwhile they drawback him.

That is precisely what they bash successful the videos that captured the 2nd brushwood which began astatine 8.32pm. For respective minutes, constabulary punched and kicked him, successful the assemblage and the head, portion Mr Nichols cried for his mother. One serviceman is seen wandering away, breathing heavily. Almost a infinitesimal later, helium returns to the scene, pulls retired his extendable baton and strikes Mr Nichols repeatedly.

None of the officers effort to halt him, oregon different who is seen punching Mr Nichols successful the caput astatine slightest 5 times.

"This incidental conscionable ran retired of control," Mr Donaldson says.

It is evident from the footage that Mr Nichols is successful distress aft the beating. He writhes connected the crushed earlier being slumped up against a car, incapable to decently beryllium up himself.

"The worst portion of it was was the deficiency of humanity aft the incident," Mr Donaldson says.

The officers "stood astir similar its arsenic conscionable an day connected the street," helium says, portion leaving Mr Nichols "laying determination connected the crushed similar a portion of garbage".

There are much officers connected the country than bodycams released, and we bash not cognize if determination is further footage.

Medics get to analyse Mr Nichols astatine 8.21pm. Twenty minutes aboriginal a stretcher comes into presumption successful the video and past an ambulance arrives. We don't cognize however agelong it is earlier Mr Nichols is taken to hospital.

Although it is wide Mr Nichols was severely beaten, we inactive bash not cognize what really caused his decease successful infirmary 3 days later.

In the video, we bash spot constabulary footwear him successful the caput twice, and determination is humor disposable astir his face.

Attorneys for his household person said that an autarkic autopsy recovered that helium suffered "extensive bleeding caused by a terrible beating," but the afloat study has not been made public.

With further reporting by Bernd Debusmann, Barbara Plett Usher and Nada Tawfik