Five former police officers have been charged with second-degree murder after a man died following a traffic stop in Memphis, Tennessee.

Tyre Nichols, 29, a black man, died three days after being arrested on January 7 for alleged reckless driving.

The officers, who are all black, are also charged with aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression.

According to Mr. Nichols’ family, an autopsy revealed that he was severely beaten.

US President Joe Biden has called for “peaceful protest” as authorities prepare to release the footage on Friday evening local time.

The city’s police chief had previously urged residents to remain calm if the video was made public.

“This is not just a professional failing,” Cerelyn Davis, the city’s first black woman police chief, said of the ex-officers’ alleged behavior.

“This is a failing of basic humanity toward another individual.”

The five officers, all of whom joined the Memphis Police Department in the last six years, were fired last week after an investigation found them to be “directly responsible for the physical abuse of Mr Nichols”.

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III, and Justin Smith are all in custody, according to jail records.

Lawyers for two of the men said at a news conference on Thursday that their clients intended to fight the charges.

“Knowing Mr Mills and the kind of person he is, I cannot imagine he has anything but feelings of grief for the [Nichols] family.” said Blake Ballin, an attorney for Mr Mills.

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According to Mr Martin’s lawyer, the death was “shocking to officers” to officers.

“No-one out there that night intended for Tyre Nichols to die,” said the attorney, William Massey.

The Nichols family and their legal team privately reviewed the video footage of the arrest earlier this week.

“He was a human piñata,” lawyer Antonio Romanucci said of the contents. “It was an unadulterated, unabashed, non-stop beating of this young boy for three minutes.”

The family’s lawyers said on Wednesday that a post-mortem examination revealed he had been severely beaten.

“My son was a beautiful soul,” said Mr Nichols’ mother, Rowvaughn Wells. “Nobody is perfect, but he was damn near.” Her son’s death was described as “murder” by her.

Mr Nichols was stopped by police on his way home after photographing a sunset at a nearby park, according to the family’s attorney.

After reviewing the video, the lawyer stated that Mr Nichols was pepper-sprayed, tasered, restrained, and kicked.

According to city officials, he was pulled over for reckless driving and two “confrontations” occurred.

According to authorities, the first incident occurred when officers approached the vehicle and he attempted to flee on foot.

As per them, the second altercation occurred when officers attempted to arrest him.

Mr Nichols later complained of shortness of breath and was taken to hospital, where he was listed in critical condition, according to police.

Mr Nichols “succumbed to his injuries” on January 10, according to officials, who provided no further details. The official cause of death has not yet been revealed.

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Reverend Al Sharpton, a civil rights leader in the United States, told BBC News that the crime was particularly painful because of the officers’ race.

“We fought to put blacks on the police force,” he said. “For them to act in such a brutal way is more egregious than I can tell you.”

Mr. Sharpton also stated that he believes the outcome would have been different if the alleged victim in the incident had been white.

“I do not believe these five black police officers would have done this had he been a young white man,” he said.

The FBI and the Department of Justice have launched a civil rights investigation into Mr Nichols’ death.

President Biden issued a statement expressing his condolences to the victim’s family and the entire city of Memphis.

“As Americans grieve, the Department of Justice conducts its investigation, and state authorities continue their work, I join Tyre’s family in calling for peaceful protest,” he said.

“Outrage is understandable, but violence is never acceptable.”

What charges do the former officers face?