(NewsNation) — The release of body camera footage of Tyre Nichols’ arrest is coming Friday evening, leading some to question the timing of the release.
Nichols was beaten during a traffic stop on Jan. 7 and died in police custody three days later. All five officers involved in his arrest are facing murder charges.
The bodycam video of Nichols’ arrest is expected to be released after 6 p.m. local time.
On the question of timing, Jesse Weber, legal analyst and a host on the Law & Crime Network, said, “I can understand why they’re doing it. This is going to be a very long night.”
Weber told NewsNation on Friday the release of the bodycam footage, which Memphis authorities have described as “appalling” and “horrendous.”
Ralph Godbee, a former chief of police in Detroit, echoed Weber’s sentiments during an “On Balance with Leland Vittert” appearance.
Knowing human emotion and human behavior of the nature of protest … and this is not an isolated incident,” Godbee said. “And when you look at the aggregate of relationships between Black and brown communities and the police reform efforts — it is a tinderbox. So, I’m concerned at the timing of the release of the video.”
Attorney Ian Samuel, however, questions why the timing of the video’s release matters at all considering Nichols was killed.
“This is a video of a man being beaten to death,” said Samuel. “I would say that (the video’s) content bothers me a great deal more than it being released after dark.”