Joe Biden has issued a statement bringing race into the killing of Tyre Nichols by five then-Memphis Police Officers, despite all of them being black.
Nichols, 29, died in the hospital three days after the brutal assault, which took place during a traffic stop on January 10.
In his statement, Biden said that he was “outraged and deeply pained” by the footage.
“Like so many, I was outraged and deeply pained to see the horrific video of the beating that resulted in Tyre Nichols’ death,” Biden said in a statement after the videos were released to the public. “It is yet another painful reminder of the profound fear and trauma, the pain, and the exhaustion that Black and Brown Americans experience every single day.”
BREAKING: Tyre Nichols video released in Memphis (AUDIO FIXED) pic.twitter.com/3xtYrLgUH2
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) January 28, 2023
Biden continued on to urge protesters not to “resort to violence or destruction.”
“My heart goes out to Tyre Nichols’ family and to Americans in Memphis and across the country who are grieving this tremendously painful loss,” Biden said. “The footage that was released this evening will leave people justifiably outraged. Those who seek justice should not to resort to violence or destruction. Violence is never acceptable; it is illegal and destructive. I join Mr. Nichols’ family in calling for peaceful protest.”
Biden has previously spoken to RowVaughn Wells and Rodney Wells, the parents of Nichols.
The parents of Nichols have called for people to protest peacefully, but as of 9 p.m. local time on Friday evening, things were already beginning to get rowdy.
One protester climbs on an NYPD car and smashes out the front window, leads to a scuffle and some arrests pic.twitter.com/htgU1VfRvB
— Timcast News (@TimcastNews) January 28, 2023
The protests erupted around the country minutes after the footage was released.
All five former officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith — have already been arrested and charged with second-degree murder, among other charges.
