Memphis beating video puts spotlight on first police account

By MARK SCOLFORO
Associated Press

Newly released video shows Memphis police officers battering motorist Tyre Nichols with punches and kicks and also using pepper spray and a baton. But initially, in a statement posted on social media the day after the incident, Memphis police used vague language to describe the attack. It also said nothing to suggest the officers had acted with the callousness and violence captured by the video clips made public late Friday. It’s the latest example in a long string of early police accounts regarding use of force that were later shown to have minimized or ignored violent and sometimes deadly encounters.