Tire Nichols death: Five fired Memphis police officers charged with second-degree murder

Five fired Memphis police officers were charged Thursday with second-degree murder in the death of Tire Nichols, who died three days after being struck during a traffic stop on January 7.

Demetrius Haley, Tadarrius Bean, Desmond Mills, Jr., Emmitt Martin III, and Justin Smith, all black, are now in custody.

In addition to second-degree murder, the five were also charged with aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression.

The court records do not include attorneys for Smith, Bean or Haley. Martin’s attorney, William Massey, confirmed that Martin’s client had turned herself in. He and Mills’ attorney, Blake Ballin, said they planned to discuss the charges at a news conference later Thursday.

Second-degree murder, described by the Memphis district attorney as “knowing murder,” is punishable by 15 to 60 years in prison under Tennessee law.

The five former police officers were being held on bonds of up to $350,000.

Nichols, a 29-year-old FedEx driver, was pulled over Jan. 7 by Memphis police for what was initially reported as reckless driving.

That interaction led to a violent confrontation that took him to the hospital, where he would die three days later (January 10) due to “extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating,” according to the preliminary results of an autopsy commissioned by his family’s lawyers. . .

He reportedly went into cardiac arrest and kidney failure after the allegedly brutal interaction with officers.

Nichols’ stepfather, Rodney Wells, told reporters that he and his wife RowVaughn Wells, who is Nichols’ mother, discussed the second-degree murder charges and are “fine with it.” They had pressed charges of first degree murder.

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

He said he was “ecstatic” that authorities have moved quickly on the case.

On Thursday afternoon, District Attorney Mulroy briefed the press, saying his team had moved “quickly, but also fairly” to review the case that led to the charges against the five officers.

He described the situation as a tragedy and Nichols as an “almost perfect son”.

David Rausch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, said of the incident that resulted in the death of Tire Nichols: ‘What happened here does not at all reflect proper policing. This was wrong. This was criminal.

Mulroy also announced that body camera footage from Nichols’ ultimately fatal arrest would be released to the public after 6:00 p.m. Friday.

Nichols’ family and their attorneys have seen police video of the arrest, but the video has not been made public.

Family attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci released a statement Thursday following the charges: “Today’s news from Memphis officials that these five officers are being held criminally accountable for their brutal and deadly actions gives us hope as that we continue to press for justice to be done. Tire.

This young man lost his life in a particularly sickening way that points to the desperate need for change and reform to ensure this violence stops occurring during low threat proceedings, like in this case, a traffic stop. This tragedy meets the absolute definition of a needless and needless death.

He told CNN’s Don Lemon that the indictment against the five officers “does not preclude” the indictment against others.

Mulroy said Tuesday that state and local investigators wanted to complete as many interviews as possible before releasing the video. The schedule upset some activists who had hoped the video would be released after it was seen by Nichols’ family and the family’s lawyers on Monday.

As state and federal investigations continue, Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis promised the police department’s “full and complete cooperation” in determining what contributed to Nichols’ death.

Crump said the video shown shows Nichols, a 29-year-old father and FedEx worker, who was in shock, pepper sprayed and restrained when he was pulled over at a traffic stop near his home.

He was driving home from a suburban park where he had taken photos of the sunset.

The legal team said officers beat Nichols for three minutes in a “savage” encounter reminiscent of the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King.

Despite reports of Nichols’ heart attack and kidney failure, authorities have only said that Nichols experienced a medical emergency.

When the video of the arrest is released, Davis said he hopes the community will react.

“I hope our citizens will exercise their First Amendment right to protest, to demand action and results, but we must make sure our community is safe in this process,” he said. “None of this is a calling card to incite violence or destruction in our community or against our citizens.”

Davis said the actions of the fired officers are not a reflection of the good work many Memphis police officers do every day and vowed to take steps to improve the agency.

‘It is my intent, as a proactive measure, to ensure a full and independent review of all specialized units of the Memphis Police Department and the commitment of my executive leadership to ensure that policies and procedures are adhered to in our daily encounters. . with the citizens we are sworn to serve,’ he said.

Two fire department workers were also removed from their duties due to Nichols’ arrest.

On Wednesday night, Davis said in a statement: “In light of the horrific circumstances surrounding the death of Tire Nichols, it is absolutely incumbent on me, his boss, to address the status of what the Police Department is doing. Memphis has done, and will continue to do, to find the truth in this tragic loss, ensuring we communicate honestly and transparently, and that those responsible for Tire’s death are held fully accountable.’

On Thursday, Tennessee Congressman Steve Cohen read a statement on the House floor:

“Right now, much of the national media is looking at Memphis as there has been a horrific murder of a 29-year-old African-American man by five police officers in recent weeks. The five police officers have been fired by the Police Department for violating their oaths…

It could be a situation where people want to exercise their First Amendment rights to protest the actions of the Police Department, and people should. But they must be peaceful and calm.

‘We have a new district attorney. We have a new federal prosecutor. And we have a new Police Director. They are the right people at the right time to carry out the reform and take on this case to make sure that justice is done.

‘I’m sorry for the life of Tire Nichols, whose life should not have been snuffed out. He was an outstanding young man and it is extremely sad that he was killed.

I pray for my city.