Friday evening, the City of Memphis released the hard-to-watch brutal beating video of 29- year-old Tyre Nichols.
Police say it started as a traffic stop for reckless driving; Although Police Chief Cerelyn Davis says they haven't yet found video that substantiates what officers reported.
Now, some Tennessee lawmakers are questioning the effectiveness of random stops and de-escalation training.
"If you don't get to the escalation part, ain't nothing to de-escalate," said Rep. G.A. Hardaway.
There were four videos released by the department totaling over an hour of footage.
One video clip from a police body camera shows officers already in an aggressive mode as a third officer arrives on scene.
They yank the father-of-one out of his car as they spout profanities and threats.
Nichols appears to be complying, responding to shouted commands with "alright," and pointing out to officers that he's already on the ground.
As officers continue to shout around him, one officer tases Nichols, but Nichols is able to break free and runs away; police immediately chase him and call for backup.
Another video angle shows the moments after officers caught up to Nichols, they're on top of Nichols, kicking him in the face, pepper spraying him and punching him with haymakers – a term one of the officers later proudly proclaimed he had done to Nichols while laughing with fellow officers on the scene.
A "haymaker" is a punch delivered with great force.
Memphis authorities release video of officers beating Tyre Nichols
Scripps News has obtained video of the Tyre Nichols traffic stop.
At one point, one of the officers retracts his baton telling Nichols he's going to "baton the f*** out of you," and another police officer is heard cheering him on – on video – saying "hit him, hit him."
At points in the video, you can hear Nichols yelling loudly for his mother as he's on the ground.
Nichols seemed to be trying to get home; he was living with his parents and the house was a short distance away from the scene.
His mother hasn't watched the video but spoke about hearing that her son called out for her.
"For me to find out that my son was calling my name and I was only feets away. I did not even hear him. You have no clue how I feel right now. No clue," said RowVaughn Wells, Tyre's mother.
At one point, more people get to the scene; It's unclear if they're MPD or another agency.
Nichols was then handcuffed and on the ground. Defenseless.
There were approximately 7 people on scene as they dragged Tyre Nichols' body up against a police car. He's alive, but badly injured.
Emergency crews eventually worked on Nichols, then loaded him into an ambulance to take him to the hospital, where 3 days later he died.
You can hear officers checking to make sure each other are okay.
Officer: I'm not talking about straight like that. I'm asking, are y'all injured?
Several people replied: Nah, I'm good. I'm good.
When the police department originally sent out a statement about this case, they never mentioned that Nichols was beaten.
Now, two Shelby County deputies and two fire department employees in Memphis have all been put on leave as this video continues to be investigated.
