5 Memphis Police Officers ‘All Responsible’ For Tyre Nichols’ Death

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Five Memphis police officers were charged Thursday with second-degree murder and other crimes in connection with the arrest and death of Tyre Nichols, a Black motorist who died three days after a traffic stop with the officers.

At a news conference, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said that Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills, Jr., Emmitt Martin III, and Justin Smith had been charged with crimes. The fired officers, all of whom are Black, face second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression charges.

He stated that, while the fired officers played a different role in Nichols’ death, “they are all responsible.”

Mulroy said that a police video of the traffic stop, which Nichols’ family and lawyers say shows officers beating the 29-year-old father and FedEx worker badly for three minutes, will be made public on Friday.

Rodney Wells, Nichols’ stepfather, told The Associated Press by phone that he and Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, discussed the second-degree murder charges and are “fine with it.” They had pushed for charges of first-degree murder.

If The Police Were White, They Would Have Been Suspended

“There are other charges, so I’m fine with that,” he explained.

Wells, who called for peaceful protests earlier this week if the video is released, is also “ecstatic” that authorities have moved quickly in the case.

During the news conference, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch said he had seen the video and found it “absolutely appalling.”

“Let me be clear: What happened here does not reflect proper policing. This was incorrect. “This was heinous,” Rausch said.

According to court records, the five former officers were detained. Smith, Bean, and Haley’s attorneys are not listed in the records. Martin’s attorney, William Massey, confirmed that his client had surrendered. He and Mills’ attorney, Blake Ballin, said they planned to hold a news conference later Thursday to discuss the charges.

15-60 Years In Prison For The Cops Involved

Second-degree murder in Tennessee is punishable by 15 to 60 years in prison.

Memphis District Attorney: Witness interviews, then video release

mp and Antonio Romanucci, Nichols’ attorneys, issued a statement praising the charges.

“The news today from Memphis officials that these five officers will face criminal charges for their deadly and brutal actions gives us hope as we continue to push for justice for Tyre,” they wrote. “This young man died in a particularly disgusting way, which shows how much change and reform are needed to make sure this kind of violence doesn’t happen during low-risk situations like a traffic stop.”

Justice For No One

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who founded and ran the National Action Network and will deliver the eulogy at Nichols’ funeral next week, described the charges as a “necessary step in delivering justice” for Nichols.

“Putting a body camera on a cop is pointless if you’re not going to hold them accountable when the footage shows them relentlessly beating a man to death,” Sharpton said. “Firings are insufficient. Indictments and arrests are not the same as convictions. As we have previously, we will support this family until justice is served.”

The fired officers’ actions that night were described as “heinous, reckless, and inhumane” by the Memphis police chief, who urged residents of the predominantly Black city to protest peacefully when the video was released.

“This isn’t just a professional blunder. “This is a failure of basic humanity toward another individual,” Memphis Police Director Cerelyn “CJ,” Davis said in a video statement posted on social media late Wednesday.

Davis said that the five officers who were “directly responsible for Mr. Nichols’ physical abuse” were fired last week, but other officers are still being investigated for breaking department policy. She also said that the department’s specialized units would go through a “comprehensive and independent review,” but she didn’t say what that meant.

Police Department Is Still Investigating

Davis has promised that the police department will help find out what led to Nichols’ death on January 10 while state and federal investigations are still going on.

On Tuesday, Mulroy told The Associated Press that local and state investigators wanted to conduct as many interviews as possible before releasing the video. Some activists were disappointed because they expected the video to be released after Nichols’ family and lawyers saw it on Monday.

Crump stated that the video showed Nichols, a 29-year-old FedEx employee and father, being shocked, pepper-sprayed, and restrained after being pulled over for a traffic stop near his home. He was on his way home from a suburban park where he had photographed the sunset. The legal team says that police beat Nichols for three minutes in a “savage” way that reminded them of the famous beating of Los Angeles driver Rodney King by police in 1991.

Family members have accused the police of causing Nichols’ heart attack and kidney failure. Authorities have only stated that Nichols had a medical emergency.

Davis said she expects the community to react when the arrest video is made public.

“I expect our citizens to exercise their First Amendment right to protest, to demand actions and results, but we must also ensure the safety of our community,” she said. “None of this is a call to start fighting or destroying our community or its people.”

Incident Does Not Reflect Well On the Department

Davis stated that the actions of the fired officers do not reflect the good work that many Memphis police officers do every day, and she promised to take action to improve the agency.

“As a preventive measure, I want to make sure that a full and independent review of all of the Memphis Police Department’s specialized units is done. I also want my executive leadership to make sure that policies and procedures are followed when we meet with the people we swore to serve every day,” she said.

Haley, one of the officers, had previously been accused of using excessive force. While working for the Shelby County Division of Corrections, he was named a defendant in a federal civil rights lawsuit in 2016.

Cordarlrius Sledge was in jail in 2015 when Haley and another corrections officer accused him of flushing drugs, according to the complaint. The two officers “punched me in the face,” according to the complaint. According to Sledge, a third officer slammed his head to the ground. According to the complaint, he lost consciousness and awoke in the facility’s medical center.

After a judge ruled that Sledge had failed to file a grievance against the officers within 30 days of the incident, the claims were eventually dismissed.

Two fire department employees were also fired due to Nichols’ arrest.

SOURCE – (AP)