Utah safety officials, NAACP, react to death of Tyre Nichols

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Public Safety together with the Salt Lake Branch of the NAACP have called the death of Tyre Nichols a "despicable act of violence and inhumanity."

The comments by Utah officials come hours ahead of the release of police video, which reportedly shows five Memphis police officers beating 29-year-old Tyre Nichols after a traffic stop on Jan. 7.

Nichols reportedly ran from the police after he was stopped. He was hospitalized and died three days later. On Thursday, the five officers were each charged with second-degree murder and aggravated assault, among other charges.

In a joint press release issued Friday morning, the agencies denounced Nichol's death

"This heinous act of violence towards a young man who was stopped for what should have been a civil conversation for a traffic infraction is far from acceptable," said Jeanetta Williams, president of the NAACP Salt Lake branch.

This heinous act of violence towards a young man who was stopped for what should have been a civil conversation for a traffic infraction is far from acceptable.

–Jeanetta Williams, NAACP Salt Lake branch

"The total disregard for human life is heartbreaking, and I stand with Tyre Nichols's family and our community in the mourning of this young man's life."

The statement from the Utah Department of Public Safety placed particular emphasis on the role that police officers played in Nichols' death.

"We hope that the people of Utah know our law enforcement leaders work hard to protect all citizens' rights, life, and liberty," the DPS and NAACP release stated.

The statement from Utah leaders comes ahead of the release of police video, reportedly documenting what happened to Nichols on the night he was stopped for a traffic issue. The video will be released on Friday night.