After the brutal death of a black man in a police operation in the US city of Memphis, five fired police officers have been arrested and charged.
The five men - like the victim African Americans - are charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault and kidnapping, among other things, according to an official prison register in the southern state of Tennessee on Thursday.
Tire Nichols' death has been causing a stir in the United States for days.
The 29-year-old was stopped in his car on the evening of January 7 because he was accused of dangerous driving.
According to a police statement, there was a "confrontation" and Nichols fled on foot.
When the police caught him after a chase, another "confrontation" is said to have taken place.
An ambulance was called because Nichols then complained of breathing difficulties.
The 29-year-old was taken to a hospital with serious injuries and died there three days later.
His family has released a photo showing Nichols in hospital with severe swelling of his face and on a breathing apparatus.
An autopsy commissioned by the family concluded that Nichols suffered massive bleeding from "a severe beating."
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis expressed her dismay at the 29-year-old's death in an online video Wednesday night.
The actions of the police officers were "disgusting" and "inhuman".
“This is not just a professional failure.
This is a failure of basic humanity.”
Nichols treated like "human pinata".
Video recordings of the incident are to be released on Friday for reasons of transparency.
Authorities fear this could lead to violent protests.
Nichol's family has already seen the video.
A family attorney, Antonio Romanucci, later said Nichols was "defenseless the entire time."
The officers beat him continuously for three minutes.
"He was a human pinata
for these policemen.” Piñatas are figures filled with candy or toys that are smashed with a stick by children at birthday parties, especially in Mexico.
Deadly police violence against black people causes horror and outrage again and again in the USA.
Often - although not in the case of Tire Nichols - white police officers are the perpetrators, as in the case of George Floyd, who was killed in an arrest in Minneapolis in May 2020.
The Nichols case brings back memories of the Rodney King case in 1991. The African-American man was brutally beaten by the police in Los Angeles after a chase.
The acquittal of four white police officers in a trial the following year sparked the worst race riots in America since the 1960s.
53 people were killed.