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Jacksonville sheriff calls beating of Tyre Nichols ‘reprehensible, inexcusable’ after video footage is released

Staff, News4JAX

Published: January 28, 2023 at 10:30 PM

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters issued a statement Saturday following the release of video footage showing multiple officers beating Tyre Nichols after a traffic stop in early January.

The video, released Friday, has since sparked various protests across the county in response to the 29-year-old being brutally beaten, pepper sprayed and tasered on camera. Nichols died from his injuries three days later.

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All five officers have been charged with murder in Nichols’ death.

Waters released the following statement:

Like so many Americans, I am shocked and horrified by the images and reports regarding the actions that led to the tragic death of Tyree [sic] Nichols in Memphis. I have spent over half my life in law enforcement, and the actions of those officers are reprehensible and inexcusable. There is no policy in the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office or any law enforcement agency in this country that permits such brutality. Law enforcement officers are, first and foremost, public servants. Through their actions, those officers have abandoned their fundamental oaths to serve and protect.
I stand with our community in condemning this behavior. Those officers’ actions do not reflect the culture of law enforcement in our agency or in this country. We are a society of laws, and no one is above the law.
I along with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office send my deepest condolences to the family members and loved ones of Tyree Nichols. They will remain in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”
Sheriff T.K. Waters

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Jacksonville sheriff calls beating of Tyre Nichols ‘reprehensible, inexcusable’ after video footage is released