Protesters blocked traffic on a bridge near downtown Memphis Friday night
From CNN's Dave Alsup
A group of protesters shut down the Interstate 55 bridge near downtown Memphis, Tennessee, on Friday night, according to a CNN team on scene.
The group of about 200 protesters marched from Martyrs Park, on the southern end of downtown, to the bridge. The structure connects the city to the state of Arkansas.
By about 7 p.m. local time (8 p.m. ET), the group had blocked all lanes on the bridge.
Memphis police asked drivers to avoid the area of I-55 and the Arkansas Bridge. Officers had trouble approaching the group because of long lines of traffic separating law enforcement from the demonstrators. Several big rigs were stuck, sitting idle as protesters blocked the lanes.
The demonstration came as CNN and other news outlets publicly played video of Tyre Nichols' beating by police for the first time.
The crowd could be heard chanting, "No justice, no peace," and "They're taking our lives, we're taking their money."
By about 11 p.m., the crowd had diminished to around 100 people, and they seemed to be dispersing, according to Memphis Police Department spokesperson Louis Brownlee.
Brownlee said no arrests stemmed from the demonstration.
3 demonstrators arrested in New York City after mostly peaceful protests Friday night
From CNN’s Mark Morales
Three demonstrators were arrested Friday night in Times Square, one of whom was seen jumping on the hood of a police vehicle and breaking the windshield, a spokesperson for the New York Police Department confirmed to CNN.
The person who allegedly broke the vehicles windshield was charged with criminal mischief. There were no further details related to the other two arrests.
Protests in New York City were largely peaceful despite the three arrests and some minor clashes between police and protesters in the city.
Court date set for former Memphis police officers charged in death of Tyre Nichols
From CNN's Mark Morales
All five former Memphis Police officers indicted in the killing of Tyre Nichols will be arraigned Feb. 17, Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk Public Information Officer Kevin Phipps told CNN.
They will be arraigned at 10 a.m. ET before Judge James Jones, Phipps said.
All five are expected to be arraigned together, Phipps said, adding that Jones will allow cameras in the courtroom. The former officers are currently free on bond.
Video appears to show Nichols hit by police at least 9 times in under 4 minutes. Here's what we know.
From CNN's Holmes Lybrand
Editor's note: This post contains graphic descriptions of violence.
City officials on Friday evening released more than an hour of footage showing the deadly confrontation between Tyre Nichols and Memphis police officers earlier this month. The released materials included three body camera videos and one overhead surveillance video.
The five officers involved in the arrest were fired after an internal investigation and are facing criminal charges, including second-degree murder. Following the release of the video Friday night, two deputies with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office have been put on leave pending an investigation, Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. said in a statement.
According to the footage, the incident starts to unfolds from 8:24 p.m. CT, when officers initially stopped Nichols, to 9:02 p.m. CT, when an ambulance finally appears on camera to take Nichols to the hospital.
All times are approximate, but here's a look at the timeline in the video:
- The body camera worn by an officer shows the first contact police have with Nichols on Jan. 7. Multiple officers can be seen approaching Nichols’ vehicle, drawing their firearms and yelling for Nichols to get out of the vehicle. “You’re gonna get your head blown the fuck up,” one officer yells. Nichols is pulled from the car and forced to the ground amid aggressive shouting and threats of being tasered. "I'm just trying to go home,” Nichols says. “I'm not doing anything."
- One officer sprays Nichols in the face with pepper spray. Nichols then struggles to his feet and begins running from the officer as one another shoots a taser at him that apparently didn’t make contact. Seven minutes later, another group of police officers announce over the radio that they see Nichols and begin to pursue him on foot.
- From body-worn camera footage, two officers can be seen on top of Nichols. Nichols is trying to speak but one of the officers tells him to “shut the fuck up.” Officers continue to hit and spray Nichols, struggling with him on the ground and telling him to give them his hands. Nichols keeps yelling “mom.”
- One officer tells the other police officers to “watch out,” then pulls out a collapsible police baton and yells at Nichols, “I’m going to baton the fuck out of you. Give me your fucking hands.” A police surveillance camera mounted high up on a pole captured the officer hitting Nichols multiple times with the baton. Nichols struggled back to his feet as he was being hit with the baton. Footage shows the officers continue to try to pull Nichols to the ground, punching him in the face repeatedly before Nichols falls back to his knees. Two officers can be seen on top of Nichols as he lays flat on the ground.
- More officers run onto the scene and two officers kick Nichols. A minute later the officers finally move away from Nichols, who continues to lay on the ground, writhing occasionally, with his hands behind his back.
- The officers eventually drag Nichols and prop him against a police car, occasionally flashing their flashlights on him as they mill about the area. Two officers fist-bump a minute later. At times, Nichols slumps over on his side on the ground.
- Two medical personnel with equipment arrive at the scene. In body worn camera footage, one person can be heard saying, “It’s going to be a while for an ambulance.” Footage shows that 21 minutes pass from when paramedics appear to arrive at 8:41 p.m. to when an ambulance finally pulls into view of the camera at 9:02 p.m.
