Killing of Tyre Nichols

Tyre Nichols Tyre Deandre Nichols (June 5, 1993January 10, 2023) was a 29-year-old black man. Nichols worked for FedEx and was a photographer with a photography website. Nichols was raised in Sacramento, California, and moved to Memphis in February 2020. His mother is RowVaughn Wells. According to his family's attorney, Nichols was "almost impossibly slim" due to Crohn's disease, and weighed at a height of . Police officers The five black Memphis Police Department (MPD) officers accused of beating Nichols in connection to the traffic stop each had two to six years of police experience. Four of the five officers were raised in the Memphis area. • Tadarrius Bean, age 24, hired in August 2020. • Demetrius Haley, age 30, hired in August 2020 (a former corrections officer; first officer at initial traffic stop); • Emmitt Martin III, age 30, hired in March 2018 (second officer at initial traffic stop); • Desmond Mills Jr., age 32, hired in March 2017 (a former jailer in Mississippi and Tennessee). • Justin Smith, age 28, hired in March 2018. All five were members of an MPD 30-person specialized hot spot policing unit known as SCORPION (Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace In Our Neighborhoods). DeWayne Smith Lt. DeWayne Smith, an officer with 25 years' experience, was a supervisor in the SCORPION unit on the scene at the time of Nichols' beating. Smith retired the day before an administrative hearing in which he was expected to be dismissed. Smith was subsequently considered for decertification, which bars police officers from working again in the jurisdiction that certified them. The documents accompanying the decertification request contended that Smith had (1) failed to address Nichols' complaint that he could not breathe; (2) failed to obtain reports from the police officers as to their use of force; (3) told Nichols family that Nichols had been driving under the influence, despite a lack of information to support such a charge; and (4) failed to wear a body camera, in violation of the police department's policy. Preston Hemphill Preston Hemphill, a white officer who was hired by the MPD in 2018, was identified as a sixth officer involved in the initial traffic stop. Hemphill was among the first officers to encounter Nichols during the January 7 traffic stop. He deployed his Taser during the confrontation and in his body camera video is seen chasing Nichols down the road, but then turns back to the scene of the initial traffic stop. Hemphill was heard on his body camera video saying twice, "I hope they stomp his ass," after Nichols fled the scene. On January 30, 2023, the Memphis Police Department announced that Hemphill had been relieved of duty pending the outcome of an administrative investigation. On February 3, 2023, Hemphill was fired from the Memphis Police Department for violations including personal conduct, truthfulness, and a violation for not using the Taser in compliance with regulations. On May 2, 2023, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy announced that Hemphill would not be criminally charged in connection with Nichols' death. Mulroy stated that the decision followed a "thorough investigation," including reviewing hours of body camera footage and interviewing witnesses. He noted that "by no means do we endorse the conduct of officer Hemphill at that first traffic stop," but explained that "Hemphill did not pursue Tyre Nichols and never left the initial scene," and was not involved in the second encounter where Nichols was brutally beaten by police. SCORPION unit officers drove unmarked cars and many dressed in plainclothes and wore bulletproof vests marked "Police". SCORPION has been compared to the "RED DOG" unit Davis commanded in 2006 and 2007 as a member of the Atlanta Police Department in Atlanta, Georgia. Davis described the Red Dog as utilizing "aggressive crime fighting strategies in high crime areas citywide". The Red Dog unit was disbanded in 2011 after the city agreed to settle a lawsuit regarding excessive force by Red Dog officers. NBC News reported that a former member of the Atlanta Civilian Review Board said it should have been clear to Davis that a tactical unit like Scorpion was prone to violating people's rights in Memphis just as Red Dog did in Atlanta. == Traffic stop and death ==

Nichols was two minutes away from his home when he was stopped by MPD at 8:24p.m. on January7, 2023. Officers Haley, Martin, and Preston Hemphill conducted the initial stop of Nichols at the intersection of both East Raines Road and Ross Road near the Autumn Ridge neighborhood, with police vehicles surrounding his car on three sides. The body-worn camera footage released by the City of Memphis on January 27, does not "show any activity earlier than an officer responding to a stop in progress..." Haley and Martin were at the traffic stop when Hemphill arrived at 8:24p.m. By 8:25p.m., Haley pulled Nichols out of his car as Nichols said: "I didn't do anything." An officer shouted: "Get on the fuckin' ground" and moments later an officer shouted "I'm gonna tase your ass." Nichols broke free and began to run. Hemphill, against regulations, deployed his taser at Nichols. At 8:26p.m., Nichols began running south on Ross Road, as he was pursued by at least two officers. Two more police units arrived at the scene around 8:29p.m. Footage showed that one officer who remained at the area of the traffic stop said, "I hope they stomp his ass". At 8:33p.m., Officers Bean, Mills, and Smith caught up to Nichols and had him on the ground at Castlegate Lane and Bear Creek which is approximately a half a mile () away from the original traffic stop. The video footage showed officers had control of Nichols' arms when he was struck with the baton, kicked, and successively punched in the face 5 times. A fifth officer arrived, as Nichols was on the ground and in the process of being handcuffed, and kicked him in the upper torso, which was followed by another kick to the upper torso by another officer. Fox News reported that in the videos, "Nichols can be heard calling out to his mother before police beat him into a daze". and non-violent; there is no indication that he struck back at the officers. After Nichols was on the ground, the involved officers convened and shared their stories about the arrest. In the body-worn camera footage, Michael Ruiz of Fox News reported, "officers can be heard discussing his alleged driving, 'swerving' and nearly hitting one of them". One officer bragged: "I was hitting him with straight haymakers, dog", while another exclaimed: "I jumped in, started rocking him." Medics arrived around 8:41 p.m. but did not begin to assist Nichols until 16minutes later. An ambulance from the Memphis Fire Department arrived at 9:02 p.m. and took Nichols to St. Francis Hospital at 9:18p.m. after he complained of shortness of breath. One former police officer described the officers' interaction with Nichols as having "started with poor communication" and going downhill from there. Nichols' family lawyers say that he was tortured to death by police officers. On January 8, the department stated that the traffic stop of Nichols was due to reckless driving. On January 27, Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn J. Davis stated that her department reviewed footage, including from body cameras regarding the traffic stop and the arrest, to "determine what that probable cause was and we have not been able to substantiate that...It doesn't mean that something didn't happen, but there's no proof." A subsequent search of Nichol's car by police found credit and debit cards that did not belong to Nichols. Nichols died in the hospital three days later, on January 10. == Investigations ==

Police report A police report was written two hours after Nichols was beaten. The report claimed that at the initial traffic stop Nichols was irate, sweating profusely when he left his vehicle, and he refused to be detained. Pepper spray and a taser were ineffective in controlling Nichols. For the second encounter between Nichols and police, the report claimed that Nichols resisted arrest by grabbing an officer's duty belt and another officer's vest, ignored their orders, leading to officers using pepper spray and striking Nichols with a baton; Nichols was eventually taken into custody after "several verbal" commands. The released videos also did not corroborate the officers' claim that Nichols reached for their weapons. Seth Stoughton, a law professor and use-of-force expert, noted that an officer typically shouts it out immediately if they see a suspect reach for a weapon, and none did so in the videos of their struggles with Nichols. The initial police report did not state that officers had punched or kicked Nichols. The autopsy conducted by the Shelby County Medical Examiner's Office (SCMEO) confirmed the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head, and classified the manner of death as homicide. A toxicology analysis found that Nichols' blood alcohol content was 0.049, and also the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). summarized his injuries as blunt force injuries to his head, neck, torso and extremities; multiple cortical contusions; and several instances of hemorrhages throughout his body. It also lists multiple contusions, abrasions, and bruising to his body. The report also said he suffered brain hemorrhages and liver failure. Dismissals, criminal charges and lawsuits On January 7, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to investigate allegations of excessive use of force during the arrest. The MPD sent a change of status form, summary of charges, hearing summary, and decertification request to the Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST), informing them that the five accused MPD officers were relieved of duty effective January 8, 2023. MPD Deputy Chief M. Hardy was the Hearing Officer for each of five hearings. The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also opened a civil rights investigation. On January 20, MPD announced that the five officers would be fired. By January 24, two Memphis Fire Services (MFS) emergency medical technicians (EMTs), Robert Long and JaMichael Sandridge, who were on scene had been relieved of duty without further explanation. A week later, a total of three MFS employees had been fired the two EMTs and an MFS lieutenant, Michelle Whitakerfor failing to conduct a proper assessment or treatment to Nichols, a break in policies and procedures. On January 30, authorities announced that two other police officers, Preston Hemphill, and an unidentified officer, had also been relieved of duty. On February 3, it was announced that Hemphill had also been fired. Hemphill, who is White, had been involved in the initial traffic stop and tasing but not in the subsequent filmed beating. On February 14, the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, which is independent of the MPD, announced in a press release, that Sheriff Deputies Jeremy Watkins and Johntavious Bowers were suspended for five days without pay following an internal investigation. County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. said that Watkins and Bowers violated: • Radio Communication Procedures — Failed to notify dispatchers and supervisor that they responded to the Nichols traffic stop. • Mobile Video Recording System Procedures — Failed to document their presence at the scene or report the incident in daily activity logs. • Patrol Field Job Duties and Responsibilities — Failed to activate patrol vehicle's mobile video recording unit ("dash cam") • Operation Responsibility of Daily Activity Log (Watkins only) — Failed to activate body-worn cameras. Bonner added he does not expect his deputies to face criminal charges. Both deputies have been in their positions since June 2021. Nichols' family retained attorneys Benjamin Crump State charges On January 24, 2023, the five officers were arrested and charged with second degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression. As of January 27, all five men had posted bail and been released, according to Shelby County Jail records. On January 26, 2023, the Grand Jury of the State of Tennessee indicted each of the five MPD officers for multiple charges: second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping (two counts), official misconduct (two counts), and official oppression. On February 16, the five former MPD officers appeared at the Shelby County Criminal Court and pleaded not guilty to all of their charges. On August 18, three of the five officers requested separate trials. On October 2 Shelby county judge James Jones Jr issued an order denying those requests, saying that severing the cases is not required to protect their rights to a “fair determination” of their guilt or innocence. On November 2, 2023, it was reported that Mills had agreed to plead guilty to all of the state charges as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors. Martin would ultimately plead guilty to state charges against him as well. Smith, Haley, Mills and Bean appeared in court on September 13 and entered pleas of not guilty. Martin, at a separate court appearance later that month, also pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. On November 2, 2023, Mills pleaded guilty to depriving Nichols of his rights and conspiring to make false statements On August 23, 2024, Martin, the second officer to come into contact with Nichols during the fatal January 7, 2023 traffic stop and, along with Haley, one of the two officers who forced Nichols from his vehicle, changed his plea to guilty. Martin pleaded guilty to two of the four federal charges against him, excessive force and witness tampering charges. Defense attorneys for Bean and Haley rested their case on September 30, 2024. On October 2, U.S. District Judge Mark Norris delivered the jury instructions, which were read ahead of the closing arguments. Closing arguments would then be presented that night. After five hours of deliberation, the federal jury convicted Haley, Bean and Smith on various charges. The three defendants have been scheduled to be sentenced in January 2025, while Martin was slated to be sentenced on December 5, 2024. On October 16, 2024, Mills' sentencing date was pushed back to February 20, 2025. Sentencing for all five officers was later again delayed, until the week of June 16, 2025. On June 13, 2025, judge Norris recused himself from the case, days before officers were scheduled to be sentenced, and case was reassigned to U.S. District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman. As a result, sentencing was delayed again. On July 24, 2025, sentencing was set in the week of December 15, 2025. On August 28, 2025, judge Lipman ordered a new trial for Bean, Haley and Smith, citing concerns of bias after a judge presiding over the first trial allegedly suggested one of the defendants was a gang member. On September 10, 2025, Haley was released from custody. Civil lawsuit On April 19, 2023, Nichols' family filed a $550 million lawsuit against City of Memphis, Memphis Police Department, police chief, and officers involved. == Aftermath ==

After Nichols' death, Chief Davis called for a review of the SCORPION unit, and the unit was disbanded on January 28. The review revealed that often SCORPION units initiated contact for minor crimes like a seat belt violation, a tinted window violation, or low-level drug offenses. This tactic tended to escalate the use of aggressive tactics by the police with little supervision. A GoFundMe campaign was created by family members of Nichols that states "We want to build a memorial skate park for Tyre, in honor of his love for skating and sunsets." , the GoFundMe campaign had raised nearly million. On the evening of January 31, 2023, a ceremony and press conference with Nichols' family was held at the Mason Temple Church in Memphis, where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his final speech "I've Been to the Mountaintop" in 1968. Nichols' funeral was held the next day at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis. U.S. Representative Steven Horsford invited Nichols' parents to attend President Joe Biden's 2023 State of the Union Address. Biden discussed the difficulty black and brown families have when preparing their children for confrontations with the law. For example, Biden said that such families tell their children that when "a police officer pulls you over, turn on your interior lights. Don't reach for your license. Keep your hands on the steering wheel." On March 24, 2023, it was announced that the Peace Officer Standards & Training Commission voted to decertify four of the five police officers involved, barring them from working as officers in Tennessee. They were given 30 days to appeal the decision. Protests On January 27, the police body-worn camera video footage of the incident was released to the public. Chief Davis stated that officials "decided it would be best to release the video later in the day after schools are dismissed and people are home from work" due to concern over the civil unrest that might result after its release. By January 28, protests had also occurred in New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Portland, Atlanta, San Francisco, Boston, Baltimore, and Newark. Reactions U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with the Nichols family and joined in their call for peaceful protest. On January 27, in an appearance on Good Morning America, she said, "In my 36 years, [...] I would have to say I don't think I've ever been more horrified and disgusted, sad" about the video, and it was "still very unclear" as to why the officers stopped Nichols. New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, denounced what she called "disgraceful actions", while Chicago Police Superintendent, DavidO. Brown, called the video "horrific". On the day of the video's release, FBI Director Christopher Wray said he was appalled by the video, and Patrick Yoes, the national president of the Fraternal Order of Police, stated that "The event as described to us does not constitute legitimate police work or a traffic stop gone wrong. This is a criminal assault under the pretext of law." A moment of silence was held for Nichols before the NBA basketball game in Minneapolis at the Target Center on January 27 between the Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Legal Aid Society of New York City released a statement that included, "We must continue to question the police's role in society, as these incidents frequently recur, and many more happen all the time without being captured on body-worn cameras." On January 29, Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin said, "We need a national conversation about policing in a responsible, constitutional and humane way. These men and women with badges put them on each day and risk their lives for us. I know that, but we also see from these videos horrible conduct by these same officers in unacceptable situations." The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation issued a statement that stated, "Although the media has spent a great amount of time drawing attention to the fact that the police officers are black as if that is important, let us be clear: police represent the interest of capitalism and impel state-sanctioned violence. Anyone who works within a system that perpetuates state-sanctioned violence is complicit in upholding white supremacy." In June 2023 the Regency Community Skate Park in Sacramento was renamed to the Tyre Nichols Skate Park. == See also ==