Officers gave Tyre Nichols 'impossible orders': analysis

Over the course of the 13 minutes that police abused Tyre Nichols, they kept shouting commands at him that were all simply impossible.

Among the accusations being made about the officers in the case is that they intentionally shouted commands at Nichols he couldn't comply with and then punched him for not complying. According to a New York Times analysis of a video that recorded the beating that lead to his death, there were 71 commands over the course of 13 minutes.

At the start, after Nichols ran from officers he's shown lying on the ground near his car.

"You're about to get sprayed good," an officer says.

"OK!" Nichols says. "All right. All right."

Another officer comes onto the scene and begins shouting more commands at Nichols, leading to even more confusion.

“Give me your f*cking hands!” the Times cites one officer shouting. At the time, one officer was pinning Nichols' arms behind his back and another gripped his handcuffed wrists while a third was punching his face. He couldn't comply. At the same time, his hands were visible while they were handcuffed.

While two officers were standing above Nichols as he was lying on his side and rubbing his eyes after being pepper-sprayed, an officer kicked him in the face.

"Mr. Nichols appears to be barely conscious or coherent, but officers treat him as if he is resisting orders," said the Times analysis.

“Lay flat, g*ddamn it,” an officer says.

At that point in the video, Nichols had been pepper-sprayed at least three times, kicked in the head twice, punched multiple times and tased.

“Lay flat,” a different officer demands.

He goes limp as the handcuffs go on his wrists.

See the full analysis in the New York Times.