justice for tyre nichols. justice for tyre nichols. justice for tyre nichols. justice for tyre nichols. justice for tyre nichols. justice for tyre nichols. justice for tyre nichols. justice for tyre nichols. thank you all. now you are going to hear from a great lawyer who fights for civil rights all across america who i'm so proud to fight with yet again on the front line. then we will continue on with the press conference. [ applause ] >> thank you, again, ladies and gentlemen. i do have a few points to cover with you today. we were just here before you a few days ago. but we have to lead from the top. i want to talk to you about these criminal charges. the gravity of the criminal charges and what it means not only to these officers but to this city, state and our country. remember, this supposedly emanated from a traffic stop which turned deadly. we talked about what we saw in the video when we were here before you monday, some were unmarked squad cars. these were not all officers in uniform. only partially of them were. you can call this the scorpion unit if

nichols' mother has

and nichols ran away on foot. they said that there was, quote, another confrontation when officers apprehended and arrested nichols, and that they called an absence after he complaint -- breath tennessee bureau -- injuries -- -- autopsy -- professor -- police department -- -- including second degree murder and aggravated kidnapping and at a press conference this afternoon -- tyre nichols mother delivered a message directly to those officers -- >> i want to say to the five police officers that, murder of my son, you also disgraced your own families when you did this. but you know what? i am going to pray for you and your families. because at the end of the day, they should not have happened. this just should not have happened. d.>> we are going to now play some of the footage of the incident. i want to be very clear about this, that what we are about to change both graphic and disturbing. you are, of course, under no obligation to watch it. we are airing it to because we believe, as does the family, that is in the

his hands as nichols cries out for his mother. in all, the video covers about 38 minutes from the moment that officers yank the 29-year-old over, out of his vehicle, when they pull him over to the arrival of an ambulance on the scene, for 21 minutes it shows police officers, sheriffs deputies and emts talking and walking around him but no run renders aid as he is slumped over on a vehicle. >> that's another difficult portion of the video to watch. five of the officers at the scene are now facing multiple charges, including second-degree murder and kidnapping and this morning two sheriffs deputies who are present are now on leave pending an investigation. and what many feared would be a night of violence was largely peaceful with protests across the country in new york. three people were arrested, one for breaking the windshield of a patrol car. but, overall, what we saw were calm and peaceful protests. >> amara, which want to bring in sara sidner to this conversation. sara, you spent the night with protesters. you visited the scen

, none of this will bring tyre nichols back. been handled since will not do anything exactly for the family, but in terms of the timing, the police release and the charges and the video tomorrow night, how would you assess that? >> i think they have gone back and forth. i had known they've gone back and forth on the dates and sequencing between the announcements of the charges and the video, and it was really the day before yesterday when they decided to separate them by 24 hours. i believe the russia now is, let's get the charges to show people justice is being done, and then let's use the next 24 hours to try to do that community outreach and get everybody on board with, let the process go forward, and if you will protest, do so peacefully, so that they can go into the weekend with some level of confidence and have a handle on it. that's interesting, memphis seems to be very calm, other cities, new york, l. a., chicago, los angeles, also atlanta in particular, also expect protests. they are concerned about the friday going int

none more than mike nichols.e might not have lived long enough to have a career or go to high school if he had boarded a ship to the united states just two weeks later in 1939. two weeks after little michael nichols walked off that boat in new york harbor america closed its heart to another refugee ship from europe carrying jews fleeing nazi germany, like little michael. that ship was turned away from american ports and forced to go back to europe. a tragedy told in the book and subsequent movie titled "voyage of the dammed." james lipton asked mike nichols if he thought about what had happened to him if he left europe just two weeks later. >> do you ever reflect on that? >> always. >> do you? >> yeah. i feel like this is all borrowed time. >> 75 years of borrowed time, and mike nichols left his audience wanting more. much more. here's some news you may find surprising. we're for an open internet for all. we're for creating more innovation and competition. we're for net neutrality protection. now, here's some new

nichols. and how, frankly people across the country are reacting tonight to what they have seen and what we are all seeing on these videos. there's more than one different vantage point. some body cam, some with audio, some without. it is all collectively and individually so difficult to watch. human being, 29-year-old man, beaten mercilessly over and over and over and over. when it started, when police first told him over, it was him, it was he who tried to calm the situation. >> i did not do anything. >> get on the ground! >> all right, all right. >> get on the [ laughter ] ground! laydown! i'm fixing to tase you. >> i'm going to break you. put your hands back. >> you guys are really doing a lot right now. >> even looking at that, can't even understand why it escalated, why there was anger by the officers. why the screaming compared to the calm of a man pulled over. we are still waiting to figure out what, if their answer can ever come. frankly, what you saw was nothing what was prepared for

nichols died in the hospital. three days later, the officers fired and charged with second degree murder. tyree nichols, mother and her message today addressing those fired officers directly stephanie ramos in memphis. also tonight, the very unsettling police video of the attack on nancy pelosi's husband, we will not show it all here. a judge in san francisco, releasing the video of the vicious attack along with his called 911 officers confronting the intruder, and he and paul pelosi struggling over a hammer tell the suspect dropped the hammer and what he then says. what he then does matt rivers from california. b attack on this international holocaust remembrance day that deadly shooting rampage outside a synagogue in jerusalem. at least seven people killed james longman reporting. the dramatic day in court of the trial of the once prominent attorney, alex murdoch, charged with murdering his own wife and son and what the jury was shown today. the police interview with burdock what he said to them about discoverin

nichols. we understand and acknowledge the grief that the friends and family of tyre nichols are experiencing right now as well as the great concern throughout all of memphis and shelby county about this case. we met several times this week with the family of tyre nichols. they described an almost perfect son, a cheerful and happy person who enjoyed skateboarding and sunsets over shelby farms park. we're grateful to the family of tyre nichols for their patience as we expedited both the investigation and the consideration of charges in this case as well as the understanding on the part of the fa family, that premature release of the video could compromise both. and we did work quickly to expedite this investigation because of the extraordinary nature of the case compared to the average prosecution decisions in a case like this. we worked swiftly, but also fairly, and most importantly in a way calculated to ensure that we have a strong case. as you might have heard from ms. williams in this case

they got nichols.nd, well, on the strength of that it all came to play, that this was the fugitive, mass murderer, i had no idea about ashley's situation, of course. >> but you go to the scene and you're standing there for a time not knowing that the police have not yet apprehended him. you didn't know. >> had not yet taken him into custody, no. when we got there it seemed -- and i knew nothing of the fact that he wanted to surrender. we thought it was still a hostage situation in that very densely packed housing development there in the suburban -- the suburbs. so, as it unfolded, it really had one of the happy endings to such a grim, grim story. what i find intriguing and perplexing is why he was not given the death sentence, given the fact that he had killed in such cold blood people who were innocent and officials. but the jury for some reason that i still don't understand hung on the death sentence so the judge imposed these consecutive life sentences. >> i want to correct something i said earlier

they got nichols and it came to play.n i got there, i knew )c.$ydtq jr'g of the fact he wanted to surrender. we thought it was still a hostage situation there in that densely-packed suburb. so it had one of the happy endings to a grim story. what i find intriguing and perplexing is why he was not given the death sentence given the fact he killed, in cold blood. but the jury hung on the death sentence and the judge imposed consecutive life sentence. >> i want to correct i said he killed the first deputy she suffered severe brain damage. she's not actually dead. he was glad to hear it. that he was afraid for his life and knew it was on open you know openly known what his client had done. >> the story was unfolding in realtime. everybody was holding their breath. the man that? what does ve to lose to kill 6, 8, or 10? we knew he had taken weapons of those he had slain. law enforcement reacts in a rapid fashion, but it takes time to build up. you have suburban officers then we got there. then officers from the broader communi

nichols was apprehended. the second confrontation was characterized by the nichols family as this savage beating. the suspect complained of having shortness of breath at which time the ambulance was called. he was transported to st. francis hospital. the district attorney was contacted and it was determined that the tennessee bureau of investigation would handle this investigation. we did reach out to the memphis police department to get our hands on the police report, the incident report. they declined to give that to us. earlier we spoke to a family friend of one of the officers involved, emmitt martin iii. we spoke to beanie cobb, a retired sheriff and he said martin showed up in his office a few days after that appearing remorseful. >> i saw the pain on his face. he said he hadn't slept in five days. when he was expressing to me the things that went on, he was teary-eyed. >> reporter: cobb said martin defended his use of force saying he had to do what he had to do to get nichols into custody. pamela? >> t

the late developments in the tyre nichols case tonight. two emts and a driver fired. and two more memphis police officers relieved of duty. >>> also tonight, the treacherous ice storm. multiple accidents coming in already. 50 million americans on alert tonight for ice and brutal cold across multiple states. >>> in memphis tonight, we have learned this evening two more officers, a sixth and seventh officer, now put on leave. authorities say one of those officers, his hands visible in the video from the tyre nichols traffic stop. they say it was his body camera that showed nichols' first encounter with memphis officers. that officer deploying his taser and later heard on camera saying, quote, i hope they stomp, on nichols. across the country, the calls for police reform. stephanie ramos in memphis. >>> that dangerous ice storm, winter alerts across 30 states. 50 million americans. that ice storm causing those multiple accidents already. concerns over the power grid tonight. hundreds of flights canceled. and the record-breaking cold right behind it. wind chills well belo

none more than mike nichols.e might not have lived long enough to have a career or go to high school if he had boarded a ship to the united states just two weeks later in 1939. two weeks after little michael nichols walked off that boat in new york harbor america closed its heart to another refugee ship from europe carrying jews fleeing nazi germany, like little michael. that ship was turned away from american ports and forced to go back to europe. a tragedy told in the book and subsequent movie titled "voyage of the dammed." james lipton asked mike nichols if he thought about what had happened to him if he left europe just two weeks later. >> do you ever reflect on that? >> always. >> do you? >> yeah. i feel like this is all borrowed time. >> 75 years of borrowed time, and mike nichols left his audience wanting more. much more. ♪ it's not about how many miles you can get out of the c-max hybrid. it's about how much life you can fit into it. ♪ the ford c-max hybrid. with an epa-estimated range of 540 miles on a t

and tyre nichols died because tasing hurts someone. i think at this point, what we need to start thinking about is, when do we not need police to be there in the first place? because a risk of death is not worth the enforcement? places like berkeley, california, philadelphia, seattle, pittsburgh, even some parts of l. a., they are starting to say, no more law enforcement for low level traffic stops. and in fact, when there's a non fatal accident, since law enforcement is just going to show up with a clipboard and a no path, we can send someone without a badge and a gun and a clipboard and a notepad. we continue and we can mail you home a ticket of anybody who has ever sailed through an easy pass and forgot that it was off. there are ways to do this without introducing people whose only tools are violence and a cage to somebody who did not do that -- i want to be clear -- even if we decide that we find out tyre nichols's driving was not up to our very high standards as a nation, i want to be clear that reckless driving is one of the mos

the charges came just 16 days after tyre nichols's death. a kind of rapid action happen mostly, probably, because of the newly elected shelby district a county -- who ran on a platform different -- address racial profiling and de-escalation training tactics. and the memphis chief of police has also spoken out about reforms, including on a national scale. the kind of timeline we have seen in the tyre nichols case is not the norm when it comes to police violence against black americans, especially when it comes to these killings that have been caught on video. in the 2014 you're killing of 17-year-old laquan mcdonald in chicago -- captured on dash cam video, it took nearly 14 months for the police officer who killed him to be charged. in 2019 it again took four months for a texas police officer to be charged in the killing of 44-year-old pamela turner. it took over three years for five police officers to be indicted in the 2019 brutal beating of unarmed ronald greene in baton rouge, which, again, was captured on body cam video. that's it for u

brian nichols. he was on trial for rape when he overpowered and brutally beat a sheriff's deputy, managing to steal her gun in the process. nichols would kill two more people why in that courthouse. and two more on the run. then he crossed pathds with ashly smith. tonight, ashly sits down with the kelly file to describe exactly what unfolded in her apartment that night. how the choices she made may have saved her life and why she thinks nichols chose to end the man hunt the way he did. we will also hear from heraldo rivera. but first, trace gal ager takes us back to that dramatic day. nichols feared that he'd one of the post notorious attacks in georgia history. because brian nichols was deemed to be a high-risk inmate, a judge escorted him from prison to his court appearance in atlanta. that request was nooirt ignore or denied. while he was changing from courtroom gash, brooip nichols beat the deputy knocking her unconscious. nichols then stormed the courtroom, shooting and killing the very judge w

we can hear and see nichols complying. >> get on the ground. >> all right. >> reporter: nichols then yells for his mom. her home about 100 yards away. >> mom! mom! >> reporter: the 67 minutes of footage shows several angles of the violence and aggression officers used toward nichols, repeatedly kicking him, punching him in the face while his hands are in handcuffs behind his back, and hitting him with a baton. >> watch out. i'm the baton -- >> reporter: officers beat him for nearly three minutes before more arrive on scene, but it takes roughly 20 minutes before any provide nichols with medical attention or aid. three days later, nichols died at the hospital. this week just 16 days after his death, all five officers fired and facing felony charges including second-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping and assault. nichols' family asking for accountability for all involved. >> i feel that everyone there should be charged from both scenes, paramedics that came out that stood around and didn't do anything. they're just as guilty. >> reporter: nichols' family calling for the creation o

what we know is that tyre nichols posed no threat. what we know is that tyre nichols was unarmed. there is no reason for the savage beating to continue to happen over and over and over again. and then to see some of our police officers who are supposed to protect and serve stand around, smile, make excuses as to why this was done. it's terrible. it's inveshorrendous. but we're going to get through this. >> why this failure? this is supposed to be a highly trained unit, the scorpion unit. what happened? >> those officers failed us. the unit didn't fail us. the officers failed us. this does not represent memphis. it does not represent our law enforcement. but those officers failed us, and they should be punished. and we're thankful that they were, number one, fired and prosecuted. >> do you think it was right, the way this was rolled out, the charged first for the officers? i spoke to the police commissioner. she said, i spoke with the family first. they're okay with the charges. they wanted first degree murder. they got second degree murder. and then releasing the video today. do y

and i told nichols the story.ut to the scene where i'm rehearsing with anne bancroft in the hotel room, and he said, "the next time we do the scene, i want you to go up in back of her, she's just take her sweater off, she's in a brassiere, just hold her breast and heat just see what happens." and i did it. and she had been looking at her sweater, and she acknowledged barely that i was hold her breast, and she went back to try to rub off the thing that was on-- it was brilliant. i started laughing. and i thought-- in those days-- well, probably today, too, if you're an unknown actor, if you're caught laughing, it's the worst thing you can do because you're breaking character. and i turned my back on nichols who was sitting there and i walked to the wall and i kept saying, "don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh. you're going to get fired." and i couldn't get myself together. and i started banging my head against the wall saying, "stop laughing." and he starts laughing. and that's in the movie. the whole thing is in

so is the family of tyre nichols, and so is president biden tonight. abc's elwyn lopez leading us off in memphis. >> reporter: tonight, five former memphis police officers facing murder charges in the death of tyre nichols. >> while each of the five individuals played a different role in the incident in question, the actions of all of them resulted in the death of tyre nichols and they are all responsible. >> reporter: the five former officers charged with second-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, and assault, among other crimes. >> under the laws of tennessee, second-degree murder is a knowing killing. >> reporter: police say nichols was pulled over for alleged reckless driving on the night of january 7th. >> we have one running on foot. >> reporter: according to the district attorney, after an initial altercation with police, pepper spray was deployed, nichols then fleeing. he was confronted again, resulting in serious injuries. >> subject fighting at this time. >> reporter: memphis police saying nichols "complained of having a shortness of breath

certainly my heart goes out to the nichols family. mr.young man who had such an outstanding future ahead of him. and i would say, reverend, as i listen to people talk about their thoughts and prayers, it is obviously not enough. it is time for us to stop this. and today, i issue a press release that basically said that, law enforcement, and i have great respect for the law enforcement. i worked on in a prosecutor's office. i was a former mayor who dealt with police officers. the majority are good. but the good ones and know who the bad ones are. and it is time for them to step up and stand up and make sure that these people are not in our communities. there are so many things that we can do, but that is a good start. because if they are not on these police forces, they cannot continue to brutalize and kill black young people. >> let's shift attention now to the biden administration's efforts to help renters. many renters are feeling the effects of housing inflation faster and more directly than most homeowners. even though they tend to ha

tom of them seen here trying to tase tyre nichols. preston hemphill was present when police first encountered nichols on january 7th, but not the second time, when nichols was tackled to the ground and beaten. officer hemphill upon learning nichols was found nearby, can be heard saying this. >> i hope they stomp his ass. >> reporter: he was placed on administrative leave, pending an investigation. >> i think that all of them should pay, along with the white house officer that was tasing my >> reporter: five police officers present at the scene have been fired and charged with second-degree murder. they were part of the force's scorpion unit, launched in 2021, to patrol high crime hotspots. that unit now permanently deactivated. >> reporter: the new york times saying 71 commands were shouted in 13 minutes. those officers appearing to beatnik comes with a pa on the at least three times and punch him in the head at least five times. video also showing an officer spraying nichols at least twice in the face. >> mom! >> reporter: afterward,

nichols are more family oriented.y have wives, they have kids. mcveigh, in my opinion, had nothing to live for. so as they're starting to back off, he's revving up. >> and he holds himself apart as, i have to be by myself because i'm the true believer of this ideology and i'm going to further it the most. >> this was something that i saw as a larger good, and i know that, as i analyzed the history of not just the u.s., but all nations throughout the history of mankind, people have killed for what they believed was the greater good and it's accepted. sometimes killing is accepted. >> by early april 1995, michael fortier bails out. no longer willing to aid mcveigh, but still pledging to remain silent about his friend's deadly scheme. terry nichols is the only one remaining to help mcveigh carry out the terrorist plot but he, too, starts to lose his will. >> in the last week as mcveigh is really going fully operational, terry nick alcohols is withdrawing more and more and more. so there's several occasions where nichols

nichols. but then after nichols gets away, you hear him say quote, i hope they stomp his ass.ou surprised he hasn't be yet? >> we're very surprised he hasn't been charged yet and in fact, tyre nichols' father, mr. rodney wells, asked that very question the first time we saw the video before america saw the video. he said you know, why hasn't the white police officer been terminated? and that's the question we're still asking today because we understand him being relieved for duty is not him being terminated and so we think anybody involved in this excessive, brutal use of force that killed tyre nichols should be held accountable, erin burnett, and the fact what he's saying. that tells you that this was part of a culture of this scorpian unit. i hope that stomp him when they catch him. that is their mentality. >> and let me ask you, ben, you talk about excessive and brutal use of force but a moment ago, you used the word, lynching. i know you didn't do it in passing or lightly. what makes you feel that that's the right word to use? >> because, erin, when you think about how the

they want to wish their condolences to the nichols family. sean, there were several things in this video that stood out to me. you come to the scene out of control, out of control. you disobey police policy. you don't just roll up on a car like that. you don't know what the suspect could possibly have. you put yourself at risk, and then you slaughtered the suspect. you started to spray each other with the spray because you are not using it the right way. you use your taser the wrong way. you use your batons the wrong way. you didn't restrain the suspect the right way. i mean, that's just basic police protocol, and then i just can't get past the fact that you held the suspect up and you beat him. you took turns. you used your baton in the wrong way. and then i can't help but be annoyed by the fact that they fist bumped at the end. so they were many layers to this. basic police protocol was broken right here. they were on a power trip. and he didn't have to die that night. he was crying out for his mom. again, they have the right to defend them

the funeral for tyre nichols will be held right here tomorrow morning.vice president kamala harris, george floyd's brother, and breonna taylor's mother plan to attend, david. >> stephanie ramos tonight in memphis for us. thank you, stephanie. >>> this evening, actor alec baldwin and armorer hannah gutierrez-reed have been charged with involuntary manslaughter of that cinematographer what prosecutors are now saying, and today, what both baldwin and gutierrez-reed could not face. here's abc's mola lenghi tonight. >> reporter: tonight, alec baldwin formally charged with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of cinematographer halyna hutchins, on the set of the movie "rust." >> i'm the one who had the gun, yeah. >> reporter: baldwin and the film's armorer, hannah gutierrez-reed, both charged with two counts of felony manslaughter for the october 2021 shooting. in new court documents, prosecutors calling both of their actions reckless and negligent, claiming baldwin did not receive enough firearms training and gutierrez-reed was not qualified to acce

nichols was not correct. it was not right.ave happened and hence it was a false imprisonment. >> that's so interesting, sergeant dorsey, because we were just discussing the stop, the traffic stop. so many questions surrounding that and what bernarda is describing seems to skate that there are some questions here about why that stop occurred. and whether or not the reaction by police to the stop was warranted, as well. >> well, you know, like i said earlier these officers are assigned to a special unit, the scorpion unit according to reports and so what happens what they're charged with is being proactive, in other words, not responding to radio calls like a normal officer would do but be out there looking to see if you see anything that seems in your mind suspicious looking for a stolen vehicle and so they're running plates, and anything that would be a violation of the vehicle code would giver them a pretext reason to initiate a stop and then, of course, we hear according to the audio a foot pursuit pursues and officers tryin

and what the vice president said to tyre nichols' family. abc's stephanie ramos in memphis. >> reporter: tonight, the family of tyre nichols laying the 29-year-old to rest, three weeks after he died following a brutal police beating captured on disturbing video. >> tyre was a beautiful person and for this to happen to him is just unimaginable. >> reporter: nichols remembered by his family as a loving father. a beautiful soul who enjoyed skateboarding and sunsets. his sister keyana -- >> i see the world showing him love and fighting for his justice, but all i want is my baby brother back. >> reporter: in the congregation, family members of george floyd, eric garner, botham jean, and breonna taylor, all of whom died at the hands of police. vice president kamala harris in memphis, as well, embracing tyre nichols' mother before addressing the crowd. >> this violent act was not in pursuit of public safety. it was not in the interest of keeping the public safe. was he not also entitled to the right to be safe? >> reporter: reverend al sharpton eul

i don't believe -- i think this is tyre nichols. it's different. rodney king was beat with baton for minutes. if you go back and look at the rodney king video. rodney king was on pcp, that gives you this strength that police officers can tell you about. it is different. is it just as bad, it's worse, because this man was killed. rodney king wasn't killed. he ended up dying from something else. this is awful on its own. we don't need to do the comparisons to rodney king. this is different. but then, but then, when he is -- unconscious, on the ground, after they beat him and kick him, they prop -- they leave him there, prop him up against the car, he falls over, they prop him up against the car, he falls over, they prop him up against the car and he falls over and you have all of these people on the scene and they're not rendering help. this is awful. it's a failure not only in policing, but a failure in humanity. i'm uncomfortable actually watching it. and i know this is my job as a journalist, but this isn't comfortable. we're watching a man being

>>> only the video can tell the story of what really happened to tyre nichols. "the lead" starts right now. >> i still haven't had time to grieve yet. i'm still dealing with the death of my son. >> a mother's pain and calls for justice for tyre nichols, ahead of the release of video described as horrific and even sickpenning. this hour what public can expect and what the nichols' parents tell the most telling part. >>> more disturbing video out today showing the hammer attack on nancy pelosi's husband paul and the split second police had to intervene. >> and a consequential vote setting the tone for the future of the republican party. >>> welcome to "the lead." i'm pamela brown. jake tapper is on assignment. we start with our national lead, heartbreak, grief and calls for justice in memphis, tennessee, in just a few hours from now the city is set to release videos of tyre nichols' arrest. the 29-year-old died three days after a confrontation with police on january th, an encounter nichols stepfather who has seen the video described as a brutal beating. >> i saw

nichols.o in memphis, of course, people are gathering there. the crowd now blocking the interstate 55 bridge. they have been chanting, no justice, no peace. although i will emphasize that peaceful protest thus far. out of philadelphia, some images that we can share with you of crowds marching through the streets. again, there, though, all the protests are peaceful. and it is, don, when you think about it right now, and obviously, the night is early, there has been a plea from the family, a plea from president biden for peaceful protests, at least at this early time, that is what we're seeing. >> and we hope it remains that way. and we expect it to that remain that way, because if you look at how this police department, this police chief, this city has handled it so far, listen, no city, no person is perfect, but they have done a good job in explaining to people what was to be in this video that we have seen. also, acting immediately by firing the police officers and at least trying to get some

>> reporter: nichols kicked, punched, tased, and pepper sprayed. at one point, crying out for his mother, who lived just one block away. >> mom! >> reporter: the 29-year-old father critically injured, dying three days later. >> we're all very, very happy that these guys have been put in jail. >> reporter: powerful reaction tonight from the nichols' family. all three former memphis police officers convicted of obstruction, but only one former officer, demetrius haley, was also convicted of violating nichols' civil rights, causing bodily injury. david? >> david: stephanie ramos, thank you. >>> meantime, we turn now to former first lady melania trump, in a major break with her husband, taking a stand to support abortion rights, reportedly growing in her new memoir that abortion is a woman's fundamental right, and saying in social media that there is no room for compromise when it comes to this essential right. but in video released so far, melania trump makes no mention of her husband taking credit for appointing the three justices that helped the sup

nichols was just 29 years old. an avid skateboarding and aspiring photographer, he died three days after that violent encounter with police. tyre's mother is devastated, calling him a beautiful soul. we have team coverage tonight. stephanie ramos leads us off from memphis. >> reporter: tonight, the memphis police department permanently deactivating the scorpion unit. five of its members involved in the brutal beating of tyre nichols. short for "street crimes operation to restore peace in our neighborhoods," the unit launched in november 2021 to patrol high crime hotspots but has since come under fire in the wake of nichols' death. the memphis police department stating "while the heinous actions of a few casts a cloud of dishonor on the title scorpion it is imperative that o imctpa." instances of misconduct. >> this scorpion unit was designed to saturate, under the guise of crime-fighting, and what it wound up doing instead was creating a continual pattern and practice of bad behavior. >> reporter: on the night of j

today the nation will see exactly what happened to 29-year-old tyre nichols during a violent encounter with police in memphis, tennessee. the injuries he sustained during that traffic stop ultimately leading to his death, and some of those videos, including those from police body cameras, have been described as appalling, horrific and inhumane. >>> right now five memphis police officers have been fired, charged with several felonies, including second-degree murder. this morning a remarkable one on cnn, cnn's don lemon spoke exclusively with memphis police chief c.j. davis revealing extensive new details about what you are going to see in the videos that will be released later today. the two meticulously walking through what led up to the traffic stop and remaining questions about that, the beating and the arrest of tyre nichols. also the ongoing investigations into the officers responsible. >> what was said was that there was a witnessing of what was considered reckless driving. we've looked at cameras, we've looked at body-worn cameras, and even if something occurred prior to this sto

violence, that nichols is resisting.nsparent pretext to keep beating him, ultimately leading to his death. former chair of new york city civilian complaint review board, she now serves presidency over legal rules -- of the cone the university school of journalism, his staff writer for the new yorker where he used a lot of reporting on policing and criminal justice. it's good to have you both here. so, let's just start with that. because i do think that we have seen a lot of law enforcement officers coming forward, including some cops saying that this is standard, this idea of stop resisting. and people of all seen, this if you are in reporter, and even i've been in reporting in the same places. police taking, roughing someone up, or grabbing someone saying stop resisting, stops resisting, and the person is not resisting. there is something about the disingenuousness that, the routine deception involved in that that is much bigger than what appears in that video and i think is really resonating with a lot of people and th

nichols has since apologized on air. espn then released a statement to the "the new york times" saying, quote, a diverse group of executives thoroughly and fairly considered all of the facts related to the incident and then addressed the situation appropriately. we're proud of the coverage we continue to produce. and our focus will remain on maria, rachel and the rest of the talented team collectively serving nba fans. how could nichols have framed the issue without being subjected to the charge of racism? or is that impossible in today's climate? i want to know what you think. go to my website. this is this week's survey question at smerconish.com, were rachel nichols' comments regarding maria taylor justified or were they inappropriate? joining me now is don peebles, he's the founder and chair of the peebles multiventure black in the u.s. he served on the national finance committee of president obama and also is the former chair of the congressional black caucus. and if that's not enough, he is also the author of the b

and it is a plea for tyre nichols, the son. it is a plea for justice for tyre nichols the brother. it is a plea for justice for tyre nichols the father. but most of all it is a plea for justice for tyre nichols, the human being. [ applause ] the human being. and when we watch, we don't see the memphis police department scorpion unit extend one ounce of humanity during that one hour and seven minute video. as your neighbor, why couldn't they see the humanity in tyre? turn to your neighbor, ask them that. why couldn't they see the humanity in tyre? for his momma, turn to your neighbor again and ask them why couldn't they see the humanity in tyre? and then finally for his son, turn to your neighbor and ask, why couldn't they see the humanity in tyre? because we have to make sure they see us as human beings and once we acknowledge that we're human beings, worthy of respect and justice, then we have the god given right to say, i am a human being and i deserve justice, not just any justice, but equal justice and that's what we're going to get for tyre nichols, equal justice. and, miss ro

nichols. >> reporter: shelby county charged them with second degree murder, agevaluated assault and kidnapping among several other charges. the lawyers for two of the former officers who were all fired last week say they still don't have the details about what happened. >> we do not have discovery. we've not seen the video, so we're kind of in the blind right now. and this process is just starting. >> reporter: memphis police say nichols was pulled over on january 7th for reckless driving. >> you have one running on foot. >> reporter: police say a confrontation occurred and after using pepper spray nichols fled the scene on foot. >> there was another altercation at a nearby location at which the -- the serious injuries were experienced by mr. nichols. after some period of time of waiting around afterwards he was taken away by an ambulance. >> reporter: nichols died of his injuries three days later. >> this incident was heinous, reckless, and inhumane. >> reporter: the five officers involved in

and you have a son who is close in age to tyre nichols. this is being handled by the police chief, by the d.a. who we know has met with members of community, how is that being received in the broader community in memphis? is it what people need? is it enough? >> well, first of all, thank you for having me and the police chief, from what i've heard in the community and what i've seen personally, we want to applaud chief davis for his swift action. and answering and actually making it more calm in the city because she didn't wait until the video to come out. and as far as our district attorney, steve mull roy, he's being very forthright as well. that is what people want. when you give them information instead of having them wonder in their heads and rule dmors, it them know they're being listened to. >> justin, it was interesting to see the police chief repeatedly bring up duty of care. that the officers involved, she was saying, did not exercise, did not abide by that duty of care. i believe legally, is it true that the duty of care superce

that is tyre nichols' story. as we look at the george floyd act, qualified immunity was the big thing as it relates to bias, as it relates to certification. that is something that should be happening across the country. also when it comes to data. there is an implication that the s.c.o.r.p.i.o.n. units or the red dog unit that chief davis ran in atlanta, some kind of way really helped. when we look at crime data across time, and i know memphis well, i'm a native tennesseean, i attended the university of memphis, when you look over time it's question whether or not the units have impact but they often terrorize and butte lies communities that look like me. >> chief arredondo, referring back to the awful tape of the beating of tyre nichols, when you hear the cops claim in the wake of that on tape that nichols swung at them, reached for their gun, though there's no evidence of that visible on the videos, do you see them there aware to some degree that they needed a cover story to justify the violence? >> yeah, good

new fallout from the death of tyre nichols in memphis. let's get back to our experts for more analysis. van, you write a very compelling article on cnn.com in which you write this, and let me quote from your article. "it is the race of the victim who is brutalized, not the race of the violent cop, that is most relevant in determining whether racial bias is a factor in police violence." tell our viewers what that means. what matters most, what you're suggesting here? >> what i'm suggesting is some people are saying because you have a black police chief, the majority of the police on the force are black, five black cops, there's no racial bias here at all. that's not the right way to look at it. the way you look at it is, does this police department tend to single out black people in black neighborhoods for this type of behavior. i think you'll find in memphis that is overwhelmingly true. you can have a police department that in one neighborhood has a warrior mentality and anything goes, and in another has a protector mentality. like you wi

it makes no mention of officers punching and kicking nichols and accuses nichols of actions to provokehe officers. a cnn analysis of the body and pole camera don't corroborate. that nichols grabbed for detectives guns and he was pulling duty belts and grabbing an officer's vest. one of the five officers now charged with second degree murder, emmitt martin is listed as a victim on the report. in memphis as preparations are underway for a funeral wednesday, family lawyers say there was an attempt to cover up the circumstances of tyre nichols' death. >> it is consistent with what they said from the beginning telling them they could not go to the hospital because tyre was pepper sprayed and tazed and arrested. she believed she thought it was a conspiracy to cover it up from the beginning. >>> with that as a backdrop, we are joined by van jones. john, in a case like this where the initial police report appears to be contradicted by all of the body camera video of the arrest, is that a sign the memphis police were trying to cover up or downplay what happened that night? in the video they are