Five former police officers of the Memphis police department are charged with the 2nd-degree murder of Tyre Nichols. Earlier all 5 of them were fired following the death of the victim in police custody. They were accused of aggravated assault, kidnapping, misconduct, and beating Nicols to death.
On Jan. 8th, Police had stopped Nicols for reckless driving however he tried to escape twice but was apprehended. Later, he reported breathlessness following which he was referred to the hospital in an ambulance in a critical situation.
Police named it a medical emergency for Nicols. However, his family accused the police of deliberately creating that situation. Nicols died three days after admission in the hospital. Thereafter, 5 officers were fired for violating departmental policy and using excessive force.
After Nichols’s death, his family’s attorney Ben Crump repeatedly asked authorities to release video of body camera and surveillance footage of the traffic stop. The video has been shown to his family and attorney.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis in a statement said "I expect you to feel outraged by the disregard for basic human rights as our police officers have taken an oath to do the opposite of what transpired on the video."
She also found video content violent that can provoke people to take action. Authorities will release the video publicly on Friday. She mentioned that "I expect our citizens to exercise their First Amendment right to protest, to demand action and results. We need to ensure our community is safe in this process."
Ben Crump found the video "appalling", "deplorable", "heinous", and "violent". After watching the video of the arrest, the victim's stepfather said "It means charging the officers with first-degree murder. “Anything short of that we will not accept.” Five officers involved in the case are Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills, Jr., and Justin Smith.
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