Washington, (EFE) about this event be peaceful.
Five former agents are in custody and face various criminal charges for beating Nichols to death, who was arrested on January 7 for an alleged traffic violation.
Garland explained in a press conference that he has not yet seen the police video of the beating, but that he has been informed of its content, which is “deeply disturbing”, and expressed his condolences to the victim’s family.
The head of the Department of Justice recalled that the Tennessee prosecutor has met with the family and that an investigation has been opened into what happened, with federal, state and local law enforcement working in coordination.
For his part, FBI director Christopher Wray confirmed that he saw the recording and said he was “shocked” by the images.
Wray explained that the FBI is working with the Justice Department on the already open investigation, which will be done “professionally.”
Wray also claimed that the expressions of anger or anger that may occur as a result of the publication of the video are not accompanied by violence.
The video will be made public this Friday at 6:00 p.m. local time (00:00 GMT on Saturday).
The lawyer for the Nichols family, Ben Crump, celebrated shortly after at a press conference the charges against the five detainees, including second-degree murder, whose sentence in Tennessee can reach 60 years. prison.
Crump also wished that the speed of the authorities to expel the officers from the police force and shortly after prosecute them – the crime occurred just a few weeks ago – should serve as a “model” for future cases in which there is clear evidence of abuse. police.
The lawyer explained that, in the police video, Nichols calls his mother up to three times. “They were her last words on this earth,” Crump said, looking to her left, where the woman stood straight, serious, unruffled.
Nichols’s stepfather, who said he was satisfied with the charges although he acknowledged that he requested the charge of first degree murder, stressed that the family wants “peace” and requested that a riot not be generated in the eventual protests.
“He always said he would be famous one day. I didn’t know he was referring to this,” said, for her part, the mother, RowVaugh Wells, holding back tears.
Wells, who acknowledged not having been able to see the video, warned that the images are very unpleasant and asked that they not be shown to children.
And about the five former police officers who killed him, he maintained that he “will pray for them”, since, after all, “none of this should have happened”: “No mother should go through what I am going through now,” he concluded.