The 29-year-old’s family lawyers say he was beaten non-stop by Memphis police like “a human piñata”.
Image source, MPDFive former police officers in Tennessee have been charged with second-degree murder after a man died following a traffic stop.
Tyre Nichols, 29, was stopped in Memphis on 7 January for reckless driving. He died three days later.
Officials will give an update on Thursday and video of the arrest is expected to be released later.
The city’s police chief earlier urged people to stay calm once the footage is made public.
“This is not just a professional failing. This is a failing of basic humanity toward another individual,” Police Chief CJ Davis said.
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, jail records show.
All have been charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.
A lawyer for one of the former officers, Mr Mills Jr, said he would hold a news conference later on Thursday. Another lawyer who represents Mr Martin III said his client had been charged and turned himself in.
The Nichols family and their lawyers privately reviewed the video footage of the arrest earlier this week. “He was a human piñata. It was an unadulterated, unabashed, non-stop beating of this young boy for three minutes,” lawyer Antonio Romanucci said of its contents.
On Wednesday, the family’s said an autopsy indicated he had been severely beaten.