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BRPD chief asks for prayers prior to release of Tyre Nichols video

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – Video of the police stop involving 29-year-old Tyre Nichols will be released by the City of Memphis at 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 27.

Tyre Nichols’ family spoke to the media on Friday morning prior to the release of the video.

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said the five Memphis police officers who were fired “are all responsible.”

Prior to the release of the video, Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul released a statement about what happened in Memphis and asked for prayers from the local community.

As you may know, five officers of the Memphis Police Department were terminated and subsequently charged with murder for their actions, and inactions, involving the death of Mr. Tyre Nichols. It is anticipated that the video of the encounter with Mr. Nichols will be released soon. Due to the nature of the video’s contents, there is significant concern that it may spark responses outside of the Memphis area.

The brutality suffered by Mr. Nichols is sickening and leaves everyone, including police officers, disgusted, infuriated, and outraged. Our thoughts go out to Mr. Nichols’ family, his friends, colleagues, and community. The individuals involved betrayed their oath of office, disgraced the law enforcement profession, and brought shame on the officers across the nation who work selflessly each day to protect their communities.

We understand that the video may cause an outpouring of emotions. However, we cannot allow this incident to erase the collective healing we’ve experienced in this community over the past six years. Our officers will continue policing with empathy and professionalism, while always following the four tenants of Voice, Respect, Neutrality and Trustworthiness in Procedural Justice.

I’ve asked my command staff to stop what they are doing at 3:00 p.m. to pray. I’m asking that all of the Baton Rouge community stop what you’re doing at 3:00 p.m. today to pray as well. So, whether you’re at home, in the office, or in a store, please pause for a moment and join us in a collective prayer for peace in our nation and our city.

Chief Murphy Paul, Jr.