KILLEEN, Texas — Police departments nationwide have reacted to and condemned the actions of the five Memphis police officers who brutally beat and killed 29-year-old Tyre Nichols on Jan. 7.
The City of Memphis released police body cam footage on Friday at 6 P.M. central. The graphic footage shows Nichols being tazed, beaten with batons, punched, kicked and eventually laying on the floor seemingly unable to cooperate.
Nichols died on Jan. 10, three days after the traffic stop near his mother's home that turned into a brutal beatdown.
6 News spoke to Former Killeen Police Chief Chuck Kimble about the shocking footage. Kimble condemned the actions of the police officers in the video calling it "inhumane" and "evil".
"We saw criminals with badges that's what we saw. We saw evil men with badges," Kimble said. "As a police chief, as a law enforcement officer and just a human being, I was actually, the words that are really kind of hard to describe just to think that other people treated another human being the way these officers did."
Kimble served as Killeen Police Chief for five years and has a total of 31 years in law enforcement under his belt. He says preserving life is at the forefront of law enforcement's job. He says he didn't see that in the video at all.
"First and foremost, you have to protect life, because if need be, you have the right to take that life under certain circumstances. I didn't see that," he said.
Kimble was adamant that he doesn't understand what could've happened for that situation to escalate to that point.
"What did this man do to deserve that? I didn't see it, but what force did he present to them that he deserved to be kicked and beat, hit by a baton repeatedly and repeatedly until he was killed," Kimble said, reading from notes he took on the video.
He says the responsibility now falls on law enforcement to begin the healing process. Memphis police will be looked at as villains, so now it is time for uncomfortable but necessary conversations.
"There's a lot of work to be done," Kimble said. "And people are looking to the leadership of the police department to know that this would not happen again and those that have to be held accountable to not give excuses, but to give answers."
When asked if issues like this are a problem of race, police culture, or something else, Kimble said evil is everywhere and it's up to people to stand up and condemn it and get rid of it instead of staying quiet.
"Evil comes in all forms, and all colors and all races and in this case, we saw evil with black officers who had a badge," Kimble said. "We saw evil before with white offers and an Asian offers we've seen evil in many forms. But what we have to do is call it out when you see it no matter what the race."
Waco Police Chief Sheryl Victorian also issued a statement on Friday as well saying the following: