Tyre Nichols footage: 6 quotes that expand what we know about his beating, death

By now, those interested know the key moments of Jan. 7, 2023, when five now-former Memphis police officers pulled over 29-year-old Tyre Nichols and beat him. He would die 3 days later.

The release of 20 additional hours of body, in-car, and dash camera footage, as well as traffic cameras and radio communications, expands what the public knows about the key moments leading up to Nichols' beating and death. More specifically, the footage shows the full scope of the immediate uniformity in the story officers presented to their peers and superiors.

Some videos also show other officers' hesitancy — both in the since-disbanded SCORPION unit or in wanting to avoid any perceived involvement in the aftermath of the beating.

These quotes are pulled from the new footage and represent key events in the effort to minimize officer liability and the range of responses from officers who saw the aftermath of the beating.

"You didn't want to see the product of our hard work?" — Former officer Preston Hemphill

Preston Hemphill, the former officer involved in the initial traffic stop, stayed behind with Nichols' Nissan Sentra as others chased Nichols. Doing so likely prevented Hemphill from being criminally charged in connection with Nichols' death.

Hemphill was speaking with two other officers, including Samuel Lively, as the ambulance taking Nichols to the hospital passed by, sirens blaring. Hemphill was responding to Lively after he said he didn't want to see Nichols at the scene.

"You didn't want to see the product of our work?" Hemphill asked jokingly.

"The less you see on the scene, the less you ever get asked for." — Lively

In response to Hemphill joking about the "product of our hard work," Lively shook his head lightly. He didn't want to see what had been done to Nichols; doing so meant you could be asked questions at a later point.

"That doesn't sound like my son, I'm sorry sir." — RowVaughn Wells

"I'm telling you, that is not my son," RowVaughn Wells, Nichols' mother, tried to explain to Hemphill. RowVaughn and Rodney Wells went to the intersection of Ross Road and Raines Road after they had initially been contacted by Memphis Police Department personnel.

Talking to Hemphill to piece together what happened to her son, RowVaughn Wells could not square Hemphill's version of her son with her own. Nichols tried to fight all three officers that initially pulled him over, Hemphill said. He must have been high, the former officer said, adding that Nichols was Tased and still took off.

Wells, struggling to make sense of what she was hearing, had another thought — her son must have been drugged earlier in the day when he was hanging out with his friends in Germantown. Something would have had to happen to her son to induce that kind of behavior.

"He goes to work every day. He goes to Starbucks...he has a routine," she said.

Hemphill stuck to the story.

"He need to make it though. He ain't lookin' too good." — Former officer Desmond Mills

Desmond Mills, one of the five officers charged in connection with Nichols' death and the only one to have taken a plea deal as of the latest video release, and now-retired Lt. Dewayne Smith visited the Wells family at their home two blocks from where Nichols was being held, and informed his parents Nichols was arrested for a DUI.

Though RowVaughn Wells asked repeatedly where her son was being held, Smith responded with vague, evasive answers. He later explained it was best for the parents not to see Nichols in the state he was in.

As they ended the short conversation, both men turned and walked away from the house, agreeing RowVaughn Wells surely knew more about what Nichols did and didn't consume. She just wasn't telling them.

Related: How Tyre Nichols' parents stood strong in their publicized grief, focused on son's life

Mills then said one of the few remarks captured that implied some sort of concern for the well-being of Nichols.

"He needs to make it, though," Mills said. "He ain't lookin' too good."

Mills then got in his squad car and followed the ambulance carrying Nichols to St. Francis Hospital, listening to gospel music along the way, occasionally humming along.

"He started fighting us." — Former officers Mills, Tadarrius Bean, Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith, Demetrius Haley, and Hemphill

All six officers repeatedly reiterated this allegation to anyone on scene within earshot, dozens of times throughout the evening. He was likely on drugs they all said, as they insisted Nichols, who was speaking clearly when he was pulled over, overpowered all of the officers — even though they were significantly larger than Nichols.

In video released shortly after Nichols died in 2023, footage clearly shows three officers yanking Nichols out of the car and turning him around to handcuff him. They screamed dozens of conflicting commands, interjected with pejoratives.

At the time of his death, Nichols weighed 150 pounds, due to Crohn's disease, a chronic condition.

"It's not even a felony, bruh. You've got to be smarter." — Officer Irma Montes

Irma Montes was one of the officers to arrive shortly after the five charged former officers finished beating Nichols, at Ross Road and Castlegate Lane.

Later, we see Montes at the scene of the initial traffic stop, speaking with Hemphill and Lively. She had seen Nichols' injuries.

"Dude was f--ked up, she said.

Hemphill giggled and responded, "You saw him? His face is f--ked up right?"

More: What to expect in the 4 legal cases a year after Tyre Nichols' fatal police beating

Later on, Montes continues to talk about the events of the night, presumably with another officer. She said she was glad she didn't take the job in the SCORPION unit, she said, adding the officers in the unit were too "hands on."

"Everybody is tryna up one," Montes said. "Dude, pepper spray, Taser, and then he's doing shit. It's not even a felony, bruh. You've got to be smarter."

Micaela Watts is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal, covering issues tied to hospitals, healthcare, and resource access. She can be reached at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: New Tyre Nichols videos show how Memphis police reacted after beating