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Five fired Memphis police officers were charged with second-degree murder and other crimes in the arrest and death of Tire Nichols, a Black motorist who died three days after a confrontation with officers during a traffic stop.
Shelby County Sheriff’s Office online records show that Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith were arrested.
All five are charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.
Court records do not list attorneys for Smith, Bean or Haley. Martin’s lawyer, William Massey, confirmed that his client had been turned over. He and Mills’ attorney, Blake Ballin, said they will discuss the allegations at a news conference later Thursday.
Second-degree murder is punishable by 15 to 60 years in prison under Tennessee law.
‘Cruel, reckless and inhumane’
Nichols’ stepfather, Rodney Wells, told The Associated Press by phone that he and his wife RowVaughn Wells, who is Nichols’ mother, discussed the second-degree murder charge and it was “not good.” They have been pushed for first degree murder charges.
“There are other charges, so I’m fine with that,” he said.
He said he was “pleased” that the authorities had acted quickly on the matter.
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said he would provide an update on the state’s investigation Thursday afternoon.
Nichols’ family and lawyers have seen police video of the arrest, but the video has not been released to the public, although authorities said they will release it this week or next.
Memphis’ police chief called the actions of the five officers involved in the violent arrest of Nichols “heinous, reckless and inhumane” and called on the city’s residents to peacefully protest when the video of the arrest was released to the public.
“This is not just a professional failure. This is a basic failure of humanity towards another individual,” Memphis Police Director Cerelyn “CJ” Davis said in a video statement released late Wednesday on social media.
State and federal investigations are ongoing
Five Black officers found “directly responsible for the physical abuse of Mr. Nichols,” who is also Black, was fired last week, but Davis said other officers are still being investigated for violating department policy. In addition, he said a “comprehensive and independent review” would be carried out in the department’s special unit, without elaborating further.
As the state and federal investigation continues, he pledged the Memphis Police Department’s “full and complete cooperation” in determining what led to Nichols’ death three days after his Jan. 7 arrest.
Mulroy told The Associated Press on Tuesday that state and local investigators want to complete as many interviews as possible before releasing the video. The schedule has some activists hoping the video will be released after the Nichols family sees the footage Monday.
Beat for 3 minutes
Ben Crump, an attorney representing the Nichols family, said police video the family viewed showed Nichols — a 29-year-old FedEx worker and father — shocked, pepper-sprayed and taken into custody when he was pulled over to stop near his home. . He was returning from a suburban park, where he was taking photos of the sunset. The legal team said the officers beat Nichols for three minutes during a “girly” encounter similar to the 1991 police beating of Los Angeles driver Rodney King.
The family has accused police of causing Nichols to suffer a heart attack and kidney failure. Authorities said only that Nichols had a medical emergency.
When the video of the arrest was released publicly, Davis said he expected the public’s reaction.
“I expect citizens to exercise their First Amendment rights to protest, to demand action and results, but we need to make sure our communities are safe in this process,” he said. “There is no calling card for inciting violence or destruction of our communities or citizens.”
Davis said the actions of the fired officers do not reflect the good work Memphis police do every day and he vowed to take action to make improvements at the agency.
“My goal, as a proactive step, is to ensure that a complete and independent review is conducted in all special units of the Memphis Police Department and the executive leadership’s commitment to ensure that policies and procedures are followed in daily meetings with the citizens we are sworn to serve,” he said.
Two fire department workers were also relieved of their duties as a result of Nichols’ arrest.
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