Five former Memphis police officers in the US state of Tennessee were charged with murder in the Jan. 10 death of Tyre Nichols, multiple news agencies reported Thursday.

Demetrius Haley, Tadarrius Bean, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills, Jr. and Justin Smith were all booked into the Shelby County Jail, according to court records obtained by WATN-TV.

They were each charged with second degree murder, aggravated assault – acting in concert, aggravated kidnapping (two counts), official misconduct (two counts) and official oppression.

The five officers were fired from the Memphis Police Department (MPD) following Nichols' killing.

The MPD said they were found to be “directly responsible for the physical abuse of Mr. Nichols.”

Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis condemned the actions of the arresting officers as “a failing of basic humanity” and called for peaceful protests ahead of the release of video of the arrest

“This is not just a professional failing. This is a failing of basic humanity toward another individual,” Davis said in a YouTube video posted Wednesday. “This incident was heinous, reckless and inhumane, and in the vein of transparency, when the video is released in the coming days, you will see this for yourselves.”

Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney representing Nichols' family, said police video the family viewed Monday showed Nichols — a 29-year-old FedEx worker and father — was shocked, pepper-sprayed and restrained when he was pulled over for a traffic stop near his home.

The legal team said officers beat Nichols for three minutes in a “savage” encounter reminiscent of the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King. Antonio Romanucci, a civil rights lawyer who is part of Crump's team, said the officers beat Nichols “like a human piñata,” according to WATN.

Family members have accused the police of causing Nichols to have a heart attack and kidney failure. Authorities have only said Nichols experienced a medical emergency. (Anadolu Agency)

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