Police beat up in Memphis

Americans protested again after another recorded case of police brutality.

Memphis police restrained Tire Nichols, a 29-year-old black man, and took turns punching and kicking him as he begged them to stop, according to video footage released yesterday by officials. Nichols died in hospital three days after the Jan. 7 traffic stop.

The videos are dark and hard to watch at times, but what they show is important . Today's newsletter will focus on what we know and don't know about the beatings and the reaction from the public and officials.

The Videos: The Showdown began while Nichols was still in his car, according to footage from a surveillance camera and those carried by officers. Almost immediately, officers yelled at Nichols to get out of the vehicle, using expletives. They then dragged Nichols out and held him down.

Nichols appeared to cooperate, telling officers, "I'm just trying to get home." Although he showed no signs of resistance, they continued to yell at him and threaten him. As he lay on the ground, officers pepper sprayed him. Nichols then fled and the officers pursued him. "Hope they stomp his ass," said an officer who stayed behind.

Officers grabbed Nichols, then held him down as they punched and kicked him, hit him with a truncheon and sprayed him with pepper spray as he became increasingly incapacitated. He didn't seem to fight or resist. He yelled at his mother at one point.

Afterwards, Nichols sat leaning against a car as police surrounded him. Medics arrived at the scene, but did not attend to Nichols for 16 minutes. He was taken to hospital almost an hour after the first traffic stop. (Here's a timeline of the encounter.)

What we don't know: The videos don't show why Nichols was first arrested. Later, minutes after the beating, officers said on video that Nichols grabbed their guns, with one saying Nichols "had his hand on my gun." If he did, it doesn't appear on the tapes.

Officers also said they arrested Nichols on suspicion of reckless driving, but in an interview with NBC News, Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said his department was unable to find evidence of why he was arrested.

The reaction: Memphis, a predominantly black city with a history of black police chiefs, had largely avoided the national spotlight amid protests over police misconduct. Nichols' murder changed that. Protesters blocked a bridge connecting the city to Arkansas and an interstate highway last night, trying to stop traffic.

Protesters in cities across the country expressed their grief, anger and exhaustion over watching Nichols' video footage. The protests remained largely nonviolent, although New York City police arrested three protesters and one protester smashed the windshield of a police cruiser.

Charges: Prior to the release of the video, the five officers involved in the beatings, all of whom are black, were charged with second-degree murder, kidnapping and other crimes. “No one there that night had any intention of putting Tire Nichols to death,” the attorney for one of the officers said. All five posted bond and were released from jail.

The officers were fired from the Memphis Police Department. They had served in a specialized unit, called Scorpion, which stands for "Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace...