PRESIDENT Joe Biden is urging protests in Tennessee to remain peaceful as officials plan to release video of an arrest that led to a motorist’s death.
Five Memphis police officers have been fired and are facing murder charges after Tyre Nichols, 29, died three days after a traffic stop on 7 January.
Bodycam footage of the encounter is expected to be released on Friday evening local time.
Lawyers for the Nichols family said it will show him being severely beaten.
“I’m sickened by what I saw,” Tennessee Bureau of Investigation director David Rausch said on Thursday after reviewing the footage.
He called the officers’ actions “absolutely appalling”.
Local media report that Memphis is on edge and police have stepped up patrols in the city centre as they prepare for possible demonstrations.
Mr Nichols, a black man, was stopped by five police officers, who are also black, on his way home after taking photos of a sunset at a local park, an attorney for the family said.
Officials say he was suspected of reckless driving.
The lawyer said after reviewing the footage that it shows Mr Nichols being pepper-sprayed, tasered, restrained and kicked.
All five of the officers face charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.
President Biden released a statement on Thursday appealing for calm as authorities prepare to release the footage.
“I join Tyre’s family in calling for peaceful protest,” he said. “Outrage is understandable, but violence is never acceptable.”
The city’s police chief had earlier also urged people to remain calm once the clip is made public.
