MEMPHIS — Memphis authorities on Friday released video footage showing Tyre Nichols being beaten by police officers who held the black motorist and repeatedly beat him with fists, boots and clubs as he screamed for his mother.

The video shows officers, who are also black, harassing and beating Nichols and leaving him on the sidewalk leaning against a squad car as they punch and celebrate their actions.

The footage came a day after police officers were charged with Nichols’ murder.

Protesters have gathered in several cities, including Memphis, where dozens of demonstrators blocked the Interstate 55 bridge, which carries traffic across the Mississippi River towards Arkansas. Semi-trailers lagged behind for some distance.

Nichols’ relatives urged supporters to protest peacefully.

“I don’t want us to burn down our city, smash the streets, because that’s not what my son stood for,” Nichols’ mother, RowVon Wells, said Thursday. “If you guys are here for me and Tyra, then you will peacefully protest.”

In Washington, dozens of protesters gathered in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House and near Black Lives Matter Plaza.

The footage shows police officers beating a 29-year-old FedEx worker for three minutes, shouting profanity at him throughout the attack. The Nichols family’s legal team compared the attack to the 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King.

After the first officer roughly hauls Nichols out of the car, Nichols can be heard saying “I didn’t do anything” as a group of officers begin to wrestle him on the ground.

One of the officers is heard shouting, “Hit him! Hit him!”

Nichols calmly says, “Okay, I’m on the ground.”

“You guys are doing a lot right now,” says Nichols. “I’m just trying to get home.”

“Stop, I’m not doing anything,” he shouts after a few moments.

Nichols can then be seen running as an officer fires a taser at him. The officers then start chasing Nichols.

Other officers are called and a search begins before Nichols is caught at another intersection. The police beat him with batons, kicked and punched him.

When Nichols leans against the car, none of the officers provide assistance. Body camera footage shows one of them reaching out and tying his shoelaces in POV.

More than 20 minutes elapsed after Nichols was beaten and lying on the sidewalk before he received any medical attention, although two firefighters arrived at the scene with medical equipment within 10 minutes.

The video raises questions about the role and possible culpability of other officers present at the scene, in addition to the five defendants. The footage shows several other officers standing around after being beaten.

Memphis Police Director Serelyn “CJ” Davis said other officers are under investigation for their involvement in the arrest.

Davis described the officers’ actions as “disgusting, reckless and inhuman” and said her department failed to substantiate the charge of reckless driving that caused the stop.

In an interview with The Associated Press, she said there was no traffic stop video of Nichols driving recklessly.

During the first stop, the video shows that the officers “have already dispersed, in about 10 minutes,” she said. The officers were “aggressive, loud, used profanity and probably frightened Mr. Nichols from the start.”

Cities across the country prepared for massive demonstrations. Protests were scheduled for Friday night in Boston, Chicago, Detroit, New York and Portland, Oregon.

Speaking at the White House, President Joe Biden said on Friday he was “very concerned” at the prospect of violence and urged the protests to remain peaceful.

Biden said he spoke to Nichols’ mother earlier that day and told her he was going to “apply” to Congress to pass the George Floyd Police Justice Act “to get this under control.” The stalled law is designed to crack down on police misconduct and excessive use of force, and to step up federal and state accountability efforts.

Court records showed that all five former officers – Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith – were taken into custody.

Each officer faces charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, misconduct and official harassment. Four of the five officers posted bail and were released from custody by Friday morning, according to court and prison records.

Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner said in a statement late Friday night that two police deputies who showed up at the scene after the beating had been relieved of their duties pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

Patrick Yoes, national president of the Fraternal Police Order, denounced the alleged actions of the Memphis officers.

“The event described to us … is a criminal attack under the pretext of law,” Yoes said in a statement.

As the state and federal investigation continues, Davis promised the police department “full and comprehensive cooperation.”

Information for this article was provided by Aaron Morrison, Travis Loller, and Rebecca Reynolds of the Associated Press.

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