Body camera footage was released Friday evening allegedly showing the interaction between former Memphis Police Department officers and Tyre Nichols that allegedly led to Nichols’ death.

Following the release of the footage, multiple news outlets reported that a group of protesters had marched onto the I-55 bridge, blocking all lanes as of approximately 8 p.m. eastern time. The Memphis Police Department issued a warning on Twitter to “avoid the area if possible.”

Traffic Alert

Please avoid the area if possible. pic.twitter.com/VsOOJ7gfTt

— Memphis Police Dept (@MEM_PoliceDept) January 28, 2023

Five former Memphis Police Department officers were arrested and charged in connection to the incident for their alleged involvement in the death of the 29-year-old male, who died earlier this month in a hospital days after the confrontation.

Nichols died on January 10, three days after Memphis police pulled him over in a traffic stop, local media reported. Nichols, and the five former police officers involved, are black.

Authorities stopped Nichols on January 7 for “reckless driving” near Raines Road and Ross Road in Memphis.

Police told local media that during the stop, a “confrontation occurred,” at which point Nichols ran away from police on foot as they attempted to apprehend him.

“While attempting to take the suspect into custody, another confrontation occurred; however, the suspect was ultimately apprehended,” MPD said. “Afterward the suspect complained of having shortness of breath, at which point an ambulance was called to the scene.”

Officials released the following four videos from the incident [WARNING: Graphic content]:

Officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmit Martin III, Desmond Mills, Jr., and Justin Smith have all been charged with two counts of official misconduct, local media reported, with one count of official oppression, second-degree murder, aggravated assault-act in concert, and two counts of aggravated kidnapping.

Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, told CNN on Friday that those who protest her son’s death should not riot because that is not what her son would have wanted.

“I don’t want us burning up our cities, tearing up the streets, because that’s not what my son stood for,” Wells said. “And if you guys are here for me and Tyre, then you will protest peacefully.”

“When my husband and I got to the hospital and I saw my son, he was already gone,” Wells said. “They had beat him to a pulp.”

“He had bruises all over him. His head was swollen like a watermelon. His neck was busting because of the swelling. They broke his neck. My son’s nose look like a S,” she said. “They actually just beat the crap out of him. And so when I saw that, I knew my son was gone, the end. Even if he did live, he would have been a vegetable.”

Brandon Drey contributed to this report.

A new Taylor Swift music video just dropped featuring transgender-identifying model Laith Ashley as Swift’s love interest.

The highly anticipated music video for “Lavender Haze” shows the Grammy Award-winning singer enjoying a new relationship, all in a smoky purple backdrop. The video, which was written and directed by Swift, shows Ashley in the main role next to Swift as the two lounge in bed and cuddle at a party.

“The ‘Lavender Haze’ video is out now. There is lots of lavender. There is lots of haze,” Swift shared on social media Friday morning with a teaser clip.

“There is my incredible costar @laith_ashley who I absolutely adored working with. This was the first video I wrote out of the 3 that have been released,” she continued. “This one really helped me conceptualize the world and mood of Midnights, like a sultry sleepless 70’s fever dream. Hope you like it.”

Ashley also shared about the video on social media. “Thank you so much [Taylor Swift] for allowing me to play a small part in your story. You are brilliant and this is an experience I will never forget,” the model shared. 

“Still at a loss for words. Trying to gather myself and my thoughts. I am so grateful,” Ashley tweeted in a follow-up.

“Lavender Haze” is the third song off Swift’s very successful Midnights album to get a music video following videos for “Anti-Hero” and “Bejeweled.” The singer has hinted that more will be released later on.

Ashley, meanwhile, is well-known in the industry with a burgeoning modeling career. The 33-year-old has posed for Diesel and Calvin Klein, and has appeared on the cover of Out magazine, Gay Times, and Vogue France. Ashley also appeared on Caitlyn Jenner’s reality show “I Am Cait” in 2016 and was a series regular on “Strut,” a short-lived series on Oxygen following the trans modeling agency Slay.

Ashley also appeared in other music videos and on television including “RuPaul’s Drag Race Pit Crew,” “Pose,” and “Unconventional.”

Swift’s inclusion of a transgender-identifying person in the music video is part of a larger trend in Hollywood and the media to increase trans representation. Recently, the fashion brand Burberry included what appeared to be a post-op trans person posing shirtless for one of their fashion ads on Instagram.

Hollywood has also been hyping the inclusion of trans-identifying stars, using their inclusion as a badge of honor in TV and movies.