Video footage of young Tyrone Nichols being beaten by multiple police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, and resulting in his death in hospital three days later, sparked protests in several U.S. cities this Friday.

In Memphis, hundreds of people blocked traffic on a city highway on Friday night, yelling “without justice there is no peace,” local media reported.

The protesters said they wanted to talk to Mayor Jim Strickland and police chief Serelyn Davis.

Police in the southern city released footage of a confrontation between several police officers and 29-year-old Nichols this afternoon after his vehicle was stopped for an alleged traffic violation.

The most gruesome footage is from a lamppost security camera showing agents kicking, some on the head, and hitting Nichols with a club (weapon) from above.

Three more recordings match the cameras the agents carried attached to their bodies: one of them shows police pulling Nichols out of the car and trying to mobilize him on the ground until the man manages to reach him. frees himself and runs away.

At this point, the police request reinforcements to search for a young African American.

national outrage

Hundreds of people protested in various US cities, including New York, Atlanta, Washington and Detroit. According to local media, in New York, more than 100 people demonstrated in Times Square in midtown Manhattan.