CNN went first, but other cable news outlets were cautious today in showing the horrific police body cam video footage of the fatal January 7 arrest of Tyre Nichols. “I’m just trying to get home,” Nichols can be heard telling screaming police as they push him to the road and beat him.
Just before the video went public today at 7 PM ET, Erin Burnett told viewers that “CNN will air it in its entirety” and the footage is “graphic and excruciating.” CNN began airing the raw police footage before MSNBC and Fox News.
The Memphis Police released four videos of the assault on Friday, some with audio, some without. “We have now obtained the video and we are going to turn that around as soon as possible,” FNC’s Jessie Walters told viewers just after 7 PM ET.
After a warning of what viewers were about to see, MSNBC’s Joy Reid began playing the video around 7:05 PM ET. Citing the “piecemeal” nature of the video release, Walters and FNC started showing a portion of the footage at about 7:11 PM ET, before returning to a split screen interview.
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