SACRAMENTO, Calif — National civil rights attorney Ben Crump addressed the newly released body camera video of the night Sacramento native Tyre Nichols was beaten by police in Memphis.
"Thank God for technology and video cameras, because we heard them actually conspiring to try to cover up the death of Tyre Nichols," said Crump.
The newly released video comes from the night of Nichols' death after a traffic stop by Memphis police. Memphis Police Department said Nichols was initially pulled over for reckless driving.
The video showed the conversations regarding what Nichols was stopped for. Officers could be heard asking about the reason for the initial stop and the charges, referencing speeding and why evasion couldn't be a charge.
However, former police officer Demetrius Hayley had a different answer.
"He almost drove into oncoming traffic. He almost drove into on-coming traffic, so we tried to get him to stop," the officer said.
Crump reviewed the video and said they've filed a lawsuit against the City of Memphis.
"Well right now, we have filed a $550 million lawsuit against the City of Memphis for the constitutional violations, the human rights violations and the killing of an innocent young man who weighed no more than 160 pounds," said Crump.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young said in a statement, "Obviously, this is painful for all of us. The release of this material will be an important step in the continued healing of our community. As this is an ongoing legal matter, there is nothing else we can add at this time, but we do hope this release shows that we are committed to continued transparency.”
Crump said, based on the new video, they're also considering amending their lawsuit.
"The public has an interest in having complete transparency, and I think that's important, Chris, because we don't want this to happen again. We don't want anybody else's child to be brutally killed by the very people who swore to protect and serve them," said Crump.
Meanwhile, since Nichols' death, the new mayor of Memphis has promised changes to the way the city conducts traffic stops, including getting rid of unmarked cars, and no longer doing traffic stops for low level crimes and violations.
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