Five memphis cops were charged Thursday with murder and other crimes for the death of Tire Nicholsan African-American motorist who died three days after a confrontation with officers during a traffic stop.
The district attorney of shelby county steve mulroytold a news conference that although each officer played a different role in the murder, “everyone is responsible”.
The officers, who are all African American, face charges of second degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.
Video of the Jan. 7 traffic stop will be released to the public Friday night, Mulroy said. Nichols’ family and his lawyers said the footage shows officers savagely beating to the worker of fedex 29-year-old for three minutes in an assault that the legal team compared to the infamous 1991 beating of a motorist from Los Angeles, Rodney King. His family urged his supporters to protest peacefully.
Nichols’ stepfather, Rodney Wellessaid to Associated Press over the phone that he and his wife, RowVaughn Wells, who is Nichols’ mother, discussed the second-degree murder charges and are “fine with it.” They had sought charges of first degree murder.
“There are other charges, so I’m fine with that,” he said.
When asked about the kidnapping charges, the district attorney said, “If it was a lawful arrest to begin with, it certainly became illegal at a certain point and it was an illegal arrest.”
David Rausch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of InvestigationHe said he watched the video and found it “absolutely appalling.”
“Let me be clear: what happened here does not at all reflect proper policing. This was wrong. This was criminal.” Rausch said during the press conference.
Court records showed that the five former officers, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III, and Justin SmithThey were arrested.
Martin’s lawyer, William Massey, confirmed that his client had turned himself in. He and Mills’ attorney, Blake Ballin, said their clients would plead not guilty. Attorneys for Smith, Bean and Haley could not be reached.
“No one out there that night intended for Tire Nichols to die,” Massey said.
Both attorneys said they had not seen the video.
“We are in the dark about a lot of things, as is the general public,” Ballin said.
Second degree murder is punishable by 15 to 60 years in prison under the law of Tennessee.
Later Thursday, several dozen supporters joined Nichols’ mother and stepfather on a chilly night for a candlelight vigil and prayer service at a Memphis skate park. Nichols, who had a 4-year-old son, was an avid skater.
RowVaughn Wells thanked those in attendance, then added that his family is “heartbroken.”
He warned supporters of the “horrifying” nature of the video due to be released on Friday, but pleaded with them to “protest in peace.”
“I don’t want us to burn down our city, tear up the streets, because that’s not what my son stood for,” she said. “If you are here for me and Tire, then you will protest peacefully. He can express his point of view, but we don’t need to tear our cities apart, people, because we have to live in them.
Activists and clergy led the group in prayer and a drummer played a steady beat to usher in the speaking portion of the vigil. The skaters then mounted their boards while Wells and her husband watched.
Attorneys for Nichols’ family, Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, released a statement saying Nichols “lost his life in a particularly disgusting manner that points to the desperate need for change and reform to ensure this violence stops occurring during the proceedings.” low threat”. as in this case, a traffic stop”.
The Reverend Al Sharpton, who runs the National Action Network and will deliver the eulogy at Nichols’ funeral next week, called the charges “a necessary step to bring justice” for Nichols.
“There’s no point putting a body camera on a cop if you’re not going to hold him accountable when the footage shows him relentlessly beating a man to death,” Sharpton said. “Layoffs are not enough. Charges and arrests are not convictions. As we have done in the past…we will stand with this family until justice is served.”
In the White HousePresident Joe Biden He said the Nichols family and the city of Memphis deserve “a prompt, full and transparent investigation.”
“Public trust is the foundation of public safety, and there are still too many places in USA today where the bonds of trust are frayed or broken,” Biden said in a statement.
The Memphis police chief called the officers’ actions that night “appalling, reckless and inhumane.”
“This is not just a professional failure. This is a basic lack of humanity towards another individual,” Memphis Police Director Cerelyn “CJ” Davis said in a video statement posted Wednesday night on social media.
Davis said the five officers found to be “directly responsible for the physical abuse of Mr. Nichols” were fired last week, but other officers are still being investigated for violating department policy. Furthermore, he said “a complete and independent review.” It will be carried out by the specialized units of the department, without providing further details.
Two fire department workers they were also removed from their duties by Nichols’ arrest.
As state and federal investigations continue, Davis promised the “full and complete cooperation” of the police department in determining what contributed to Nichols’ death on January 10.
Mulroy told Associated Press 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.
Crump said the video showed Nichols was shocked, pepper-sprayed and restrained when he was pulled over near his home. He was coming home from a suburban park where he had taken photos of the sunset.
Police have said Nichols was arrested for reckless driving and at some point fled the scene.
Family members have accused police of causing Nichols to have a 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 people in the community will react, but he urged them to do so peacefully.
“None of this is a calling card to incite violence or destruction in our community or against our citizens,” he said.
One of the officers, Haley, was previously accused of using excessive force. He was named a defendant in a 2016 federal civil rights lawsuit while working for the Shelby County Division of Corrections.
The plaintiff, Cordarlrius Sledge, testified that he was in jail in 2015 when Haley and another corrections officer accused him of dumping contraband. The two officers “punched me in the face,” according to the complaint.
A third officer then hit his head on the ground, Sledge said. He lost consciousness and awoke in the facility’s medical center.
The claims were ultimately dismissed after a judge ruled that Sledge had not filed a complaint against the officers within 30 days of the incident.
(With information from AP)
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