Autopsy indicates Tyre Nichols was beaten by police - lawyers

By Mike Wendling

BBC News

An autopsy indicates that a black man who died after being stopped by police in Tennessee was severely beaten, his family's lawyers say.

Tyre Nichols, 29, was stopped in Memphis on 7 January for reckless driving. He died three days later.

The Memphis Police Department has fired five officers, all of them black, following his death.

Mr Nichols's lawyers released a statement on Tuesday that included details from a forensic pathologist.

"Preliminary findings indicate Tyre suffered extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating," lawyers Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci said.

They added that Mr Nichols' injuries were "consistent with what the family and attorneys witnessed on the video of his fatal encounter with police" and said they would release further information at a later stage.

Mr Nichols was stopped by police on his way to a local park, his mother said.

City officials said police officers pulled him over for reckless driving and two "confrontations" occurred.