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Phoenix officials react to video release of Tyre Nichols' arrest

Published: Saturday, January 28, 2023 - 4:00pm

After weeks of protest, video footage of the arrest of Tyre Nichols was finally released Friday evening. Nichols died earlier this month — three days after the violent interaction with Memphis police. And law enforcement and public officials throughout the country — including Phoenix — issued statements of condemnation after seeing the footage.

The incident comes at a moment of reckoning for the Phoenix Police Department, which has been under a pattern of practice investigation by the Department of Justice since 2021.

In a statement Friday, the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association called the Nichols footage “abhorrent and disturbing” and said the five officers involved — who have been charged with second-degree murder — must be held accountable.

Interim chief Michael Sullivan called the footage infuriating and offensive to the profession.

And City Manager Jeff Barton said it was challenging to watch, specifically as a Black man and father of two young black sons. And he said he remains committed to holding city of Phoenix employees accountable to basic principles of respect and decency.

PoliticsLaw Enforcement Social Justice