(NewsNation) — One of the charges five Memphis police officers are facing for the altercation during the arrest of Tyre Nichols is aggravated kidnapping.
How will prosecutors attempt to prove that in court?
Nicole DeBorde Hochglaube, a criminal defense attorney, said they may focus in on the fact that officers pulled Nichols from his car the night of Jan. 7, when he was punched, kicked and beaten with a baton. He died in a hospital days later.
“Trying to actually pull him out of the vehicle is a very unusual step and that very well may be the reason that the district attorney’s office … has alleged kidnapping,” DeBorde said Friday on NewsNation’s “On Balance.”
Police said they were conducting a traffic stop, from which Nichols fled after he was pulled from his car. Police were trying to restrain him on the ground before he was able to get up and run away.
Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti called the kidnapping charges “aggressive,” because they would have to prove that the officers weren’t conducting a traffic stop for lawful reasons.
“If the allegations are going to be that the stop from the very beginning was improper, I think that’s taking on quite a bit, and (it) gives the defense quite a bit to work with,” Mariotti said.
You can watch DeBorde’s and Mariotti’s interviews above.