- Title: Ex-Memphis officers arrested on murder charges in death of Tyre Nichols
- Date: 27th January 2023
- Summary: MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 26, 2023) (REUTERS) SHELBY COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY STEVE MULROY AND DIRECTOR OF THE TENNESSEE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION DAVID RAUSCH WALKING TO PODIUM (SOUNDBITE)(English) SHELBY COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY STEVE MULROY SAYING: "Earlier today, the grand jury returned indictments against five former Memphis Police Department officers regarding the death of Tyre Nichols. These are the same five officers who were previously or recently terminated by the Memphis Police Department. They are currently in custody. They are Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills, Jr., and Justin Smith. The grand jury returned indictments against all five with the same charges, and we had previously met with the family of Tyre Nichols to go over what these charges were going to be. And that meeting with the family, I think, went rather well. Here are the charges, second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping resulting in bodily injury, aggravated kidnapping involving the possession of a weapon, official misconduct through unauthorized exercise of power, official misconduct through failure to act when there is a duty imposed by law and official oppression. While each of the five individuals played a different role in the incident in question, the actions of all of them resulted in the death of Tyre Nichols, and they are all responsible." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE)(English) SHELBY COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY STEVE MULROY SAYING: "We also know that the public is very concerned about whether they can see the video about this incident and the timing of the release of this, the video of this of this incident. I have been in regular contact with the city of Memphis, the custodian of that record and I can tell you that the city will be releasing the video sometime after 6 p.m. Friday tomorrow, and that the city of Memphis should be making a statement somewhat later on this afternoon regarding the timing of that release. Let me close by saying both to the family of Tyre Nichols and to the broader community here in Memphis and Shelby County, we all want the same thing, we want justice for Tyre Nichols. It's my hope that if there is any silver lining to be drawn from this very dark cloud, it's that perhaps this incident can open a broader conversation about the need for police reform. The world is watching us and we need to show the world what lessons we can learn from this tragedy. I'm hopeful that we can show them who I know us to be, a community working towards positive change here in Memphis and Shelby County." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE)(English) DIRECTOR OF THE TENNESSEE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION DAVID RAUSCH SAYING: "I'm sickened by what I saw and what we've learned through our extensive and thorough investigation. I've seen the video and as [inaudible] morally stated, you will to. In a word, it's absolutely appalling. Let me be clear. What happened here does not at all reflect proper policing. This was wrong. This was criminal." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE)(English) SHELBY COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY STEVE MULROY SAYING: "There was an initial traffic stop. We won't comment right now on the presence or absence of legality of the stop, but there was a traffic stop and there was an initial altercation involving several officers and Mr. Nichols. Pepper spray was deployed. The suspect, not the suspect, Mr. Nichols, fled on foot. There was another altercation at a nearby location at which the serious injuries were experienced by Mr. Nichols. After some period of time of waiting around afterwards, he was taken away by an ambulance. Beyond that, I don't really think we should go into any further details." (SOUNDBITE)(English) REPORTER ASKING: "So there was a delay in a call, the police delayed calling an ambulance for [inaudible]?" (SOUNDBITE)(English) SHELBY COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY STEVE MULROY SAYING: "There was a lapse period of time, but I believe that if you watch the video, you'll be able to make that judgment for yourself."
- Embargoed: 10th February 2023 00:47
- Keywords: Memphis police Memphis shooting Shelby County Tyre Nichols police brutality police officers Black man police shooting
- Location: MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, UNITED STATES
- City: MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, UNITED STATES
- Country: US
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Crime,North America
- Reuters ID: LVA001549826012023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:EDITOR'S NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS VIDEO OF THE SAME DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S NEWS CONFERENCE AS EDIT 5475 BUT FROM A RESTRICTION-FREE SOURCE. AUDIO AS INCOMING
Five former Memphis police officers were charged on Thursday (January 26) with murder in the death of Tyre Nichols, a Black man who died three days after a traffic stop, prosecutors said.
Nichols, a 29-year-old father, died in a hospital on Jan. 10, three days after sustaining injuries during his arrest by the five police officers. Officials are expected to release bodycam footage of the traffic stop on Friday evening.
"We all want the same thing. We want justice for Tyre Nichols," Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said at a news conference.
Director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation David Rausch who saw the video said it was 'absolutely appalling...this was criminal.'
The five officers, who are all Black, have been charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression, Mulroy said.
The Memphis Police Department on Friday identified them as Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills, Jr., and Justin Smith, who are aged between 24 and 32. Each had served with the department for about 2-1/2 to five years.
They were dismissed from the force last Saturday for violating multiple departmental policies, including using excessive force, failing to intervene and failing to render aid. They were taken into custody on Thursday morning, county jail records showed.
After Nichols was stopped in his vehicle, there was "an altercation" in which officers used pepper spray on Nichols, Mulroy said. Nichols fled on foot.
"There was another altercation at a nearby location at which the serious injuries were experienced by Mr. Nichols," Mulroy said. The initial Memphis Police Department statement about the death had said an ambulance was called because Nichols "complained of having a shortness of breath" and that he was taken to hospital in critical condition.
Mulroy said he would not comment on the legality of the initial traffic stop. He said the investigation would continue and he would not rule out additional charges.
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