Attorneys: Police beat Tyre Nichols for three minutes

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — An attorney for the family of a Black man who died at a hospital three days after a confrontation with police during a traffic stop said Monday that video of the encounter shows it was “violent” and “troublesome on every level.”

Attorney Ben Crump said during a news conference that the footage of Tyre Nichols' Jan. 7 arrest "is appalling. It is deplorable. It is heinous.”

Crump, who viewed the video along with Nichols' family and their other lawyers earlier Monday, said it reminded them of the infamous video of the Los Angeles police beating of Rodney King.

“Regrettably, it reminded us of Rodney King video. ... And unlike Rodney King, Tyre didn’t survive,” he said.

Another of the family's attorneys, Antonio Romanucci, said the beating of Nichols lasted three minutes.

“He was a human piñata for those police officers,” said Romanucci.

Read more of Adrian Sainz's reporting on Tyre Nichols' case at AP News.