Alexis Guilleux with AFP 7:15 a.m., January 27, 2023, modified at 7:16 a.m., January 27, 2023
US President Joe Biden called for calm on Thursday as protests mount around the fatal arrest in early January by five black police officers of Tire Nichols, an African-American man in Memphis, Tennessee (south).
The five officers were charged and jailed on Thursday for murder.
This is a new case of police violence in the United States.
The five Memphis police officers were charged and jailed on Thursday for murder following the death in early January of Tire Nichols, days after his arrest.
This was described as "appalling" by the authorities.
These police officers from Memphis, a large city in Tennessee, all African-Americans, are the subject of several charges, including murder, assault and battery or kidnapping.
US President Joe Biden called for calm on Thursday.
"As Americans mourn, the Justice Department investigates, and authorities continue their work, I join Tire's family in calling for peaceful protest. The anger is understandable, but the violence is never acceptable,” said Joe Biden in a statement, also calling for a “quick, complete and transparent investigation” into this tragedy.
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Arrested for a traffic offense
On January 7, the police - since dismissed - wanted to arrest Tire Nichols, 29, for a traffic violation.
The details of this arrest are not yet clear: a video of the facts exists, but has so far only been shown to the relatives of the victim and their lawyers.
"Tyre's death is a painful reminder that we must do more to ensure our justice system delivers on the promise of fair and impartial justice," Joe Biden said in his statement.
The Democratic president is urging Congress to pass a police reform bill, passed in the House of Representatives in 2021 but which did not pass the Senate hurdle.
The murder of George Floyd in everyone's mind
Since the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020, the US Congress has been unable to pass any ambitious police reform in the United States, including a ban on chokeholds.
The question of police reform is a major theme for the African-American electorate, and on which Joe Biden had campaigned in 2020. Joe Biden says so far that he "intends to run" for president of 2024, and has promised to make its decision public in early 2023.