RETIRED EXCUSE FOR COP Tyre slay ‘dodge’
A Memphis police supervisor who retired with benefits just before he was to be fired for his role in the beating death of Tyre Nichols should be held accountable, Nichols’ stepfather said Saturday.
“For that lieutenant to be able to retire thinking he will be able to escape the consequences of his actions, we aren’t going to let that happen. The community isn’t going to let that happen,” Rodney Wells said during a rally at the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network headquarters in Harlem.
The retiring lieutenant was identified in police documents obtained by media outlets Friday as DeWayne Smith.
“That shield don’t empower you to go out and commit murder. Hopefully, through all of this, we will get justice for Tyre and justice for all the other families that are going through this hardship,” Wells said.
The documents revealed that Smith was on the scene when Nichols, 29, was beaten and heard him say “I can’t breathe” but failed to get him medical attention or remove his handcuffs.
Smith also told Nichols’ family without any evidence that their son had been driving under the influence, the documents said. Investigators said Smith jumped to the conclusion that Nichols was intoxicated, and video captured him arriving at the scene and telling Nichols, “you done took something.”
Smith’s retirement came shortly before his termination hearing.
Seven other Memphis officers were fired the deadly Jan. 7 traffic stop, and five of them were charged with second-degree murder.
Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, recounted how cops initially told her Nichols had been arrested for driving under the influence.
“I was kind of confused because my son doesn’t drink like that . . . not the way the were describing,” she said.
“He was just going to live his life and he got his life together because he had a 5-year-old son,” she said. “He was less than 800 feet from where they caught him and they murdered and beat him to death.”