Five former police officers, all black, from the Memphis Police Department were charged on Thursday with the murder of a black man, Tyre Nichols, who was severely beaten after a traffic stop, an incident caught on police body cams.
Officers Demetrius Haley, Tadarrius Bean, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III, and Justin Smith were stripped of their badges and firearms after they violated police department policies during the January 7 incident that led to Nichols’ unfortunate death, according to Police Chief Cerelyn J. Davis.
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy announced that they had charged all five ex-cops with murder in the second degree, two official misconduct counts, two aggravated kidnapping counts, one official oppression count, and one aggravated assault count.
DA Mulroy told reporters that each officer’s actions resulted in Nichols’ death, and all five are responsible. He said that the most serious of their charges, second-degree murder, is knowingly killing someone.
Officers Mills and Smith were released Thursday night after posting a $250,000 bond each. The other three remain in custody.
Chief Davis announced they would release body cam footage of the encounter on Friday, January 27 at 6 pm local time.
Chief Davis said she expects the public to be outraged by the heinous and inhumane crime captured on video and that protests are expected but urged people to remain peaceful.
Hundreds of people showed up to a candlelit vigil for Nichols on Thursday, January 19. Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, said the video was horrifying but hopes for peaceful protests.
David Rausch, the Director of Tennessee’s Bureau of Investigation, said he was upset by what he saw in the video. He condemned the incident saying it should not have happened, adding that he devoted his life to policing and was sickened by the video.
Twenty-nine-year-old Nichols died on January 10, just days after the police incident severely injured him.
Officials said that the officers pulled Nichols over in the Hickory Hill neighborhood for driving recklessly.
An officer deployed pepper spray during an initial confrontation and Nichols ran. Officers chased the 29-year-old man to a nearby location, where officers severely beat him.
The family lawyers, Antonio Romanucci and Ben Crump, who viewed the body cam footage, described it as a severe beating that continued nonstop for three minutes.
