COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump on Saturday mentioned the pictures of the brutal beating of Tyre Nichols by means of 5 Memphis law enforcement officials is “terrible” and that the assault “by no means must have took place.”
“I assumed it used to be horrible. He used to be in such bother. He used to be simply being pummeled. Now that are meant to by no means have took place,” Trump mentioned in an interview with The Related Press on Saturday, an afternoon after government launched pictures of the assault at the 29-year-old Black guy after a visitors prevent. Nichols died 3 days later.
The feedback had been notable for Trump, who’s operating for the White Area once more and has a historical past of encouraging tough remedy of other people in police custody. He used to be president all through the racial justice protests that emerged in the summertime of 2020 following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. On the time, he signed an govt order encouraging higher police practices however has been criticized by means of some for failing to recognize what they imagine systemic racial bias in policing.
Trump in the end focused his 2020 reelection bid round a “legislation and order” message that emphasised make stronger for legislation enforcement.
The newly launched violent video in Memphis displays police maintaining down and beating Nichols for 3 mins with their fists, boots and batons. The pictures displays police screaming profanities at him whilst Nichols screams for his mom. Trump mentioned Nichols calling out for his mom used to be “an excessively unhappy second.”
“That used to be in point of fact the purpose that were given me probably the most, to be truthful with you,” he mentioned.
Trump didn’t deal with the video in his marketing campaign speeches in New Hampshire or South Carolina, the primary stops of his 2024 presidential marketing campaign.
The 5 former Memphis Police Division officials, who’re additionally Black, had been fired and charged with homicide and different crimes. The felony crew for Nichols’ circle of relatives has likened it to the notorious 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King.
Trump mentioned Memphis Police had been taking a “sturdy step” by means of disbanding the police unit concerned within the assault, which used to be created to focus on violent offenders in spaces beset by means of prime crime.
“Glance, the tape used to be possibly no longer utterly conclusive however, to me, it used to be beautiful conclusive and it used to be vicious and violent and difficult to imagine — over a visitors violation,” he mentioned.