Five Memphis Cops Charged In Tyre Nichols Death

Five now-fired Memphis police officers were charged Thursday after the group was accused of severely beating Black driver Tyre Nichols, who later died in custody.

Police pulled over the 29-year-old father for a traffic stop on Jan. 7. Nichols’ family said he then fled the scene, fearing for his life, before the five officers caught up to him and beat him for three minutes. The Memphis Police Department identified the officers as Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmit Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith.

Bean, Haley, Martin and Mills have been charged with two counts of official misconduct, one count of official oppression, one count of second-degree murder, one count of aggravated assault and two counts of aggravated kidnapping, according to Shelby County court records.

Smith was charged with four counts of official misconduct, two counts of official oppression, two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault and four counts of aggravated kidnapping.

All five officers are being held in Shelby County jail.

Nichols’ family and its lawyers were given a chance to see body camera footage before it was released to the public. According to family attorney Antonio Romanucci, the video showed the officers using pepper spray, a stun gun and restraint tactics on Nichols, who was eventually taken to a hospital. He died on Jan. 10.

Earlier this month, the family and activists released a photo of Nichols in a hospital bed, bandaged and swollen with a discolored face. The photo was displayed during several demonstrations in the city where the family and protesters demanded justice for Nichols.

Nichols “suffered extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating,” family attorney Benjamin Crump said Tuesday after a family-commissioned independent autopsy released its preliminary findings. Local authorities have not yet released an autopsy report.

The Memphis Police Department fired all five officers after determining they “violated multiple department policies, including excessive use of force, duty to intervene, and duty to render aid.”

Nichols was a FedEx worker in the Memphis area who enjoyed skateboarding and photography. The family’s lawyers said that in some of Nichols’ final moments of consciousness, he called for his mother and expressed wanting to just go home.