DA: 5 Memphis cops `all responsible' for death
MEMPHIS, TENN. >> Five fired Memphis police officers were charged Thursday with murder and other crimes in the killing of Tyre Nichols, a Black motorist who died three days after a confrontation with the officers during a traffic stop.
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy told a news conference that although the officers each played different roles in the killing, “they are all responsible.”
The officers, all Black, each 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 sometime Friday evening, Mulroy said. Nichols' family and their lawyers say the footage shows officers savagely beating the 29-year-old father and FedEx worker for three minutes.
Nichols' stepfather, Rodney Wells, told The Associated Press by phone that he and his wife, RowVaughn Wells, Nichols' mother, discussed the second-degree murder charges and are “fine with it.” They had sought first-degree murder charges.
“There's other charges, so I'm all right with that,” he said.
Earlier this week, Wells called for any protests that happen when the video is released to remain peaceful. He also said he is “ecstatic” that authorities moved quickly in the case.
David Rausch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, said during the news conference that he saw 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.
Court records showed that all five former officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith — were in custody.
The records do not list attorneys for Smith, Bean or Haley. Martin's lawyer, William Massey, confirmed that his client had turned himself in. He and Mills' lawyer, Blake Ballin, said they planned to discuss the charges at a news conference later Thursday.
Second-degree murder is punishable by 15 to 60 years in prison under Tennessee law.
The attorneys for Nichols' family, Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, issued a statement praising the charges.
The charges offer “hope as we continue to push for justice for Tyre,” they wrote. “This young man 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 low-threat procedures, like in this case, a traffic stop.”
The Rev. Al Sharpton, who founded and runs the National Action Network and will deliver the eulogy at Nichols' funeral service next week, called the charges “a necessary step in delivering justice” for Nichols, an avid skateboarder with a 4-year-old son.
“There is no point to putting a body camera on a cop if you aren't going to hold them accountable when the footage shows them relentlessly beating a man to death,” Sharpton said. “Firings are not enough. Indictments and arrests are not convictions. As we've done in the past ... we will stand by this family until justice is done.”
The Memphis police chief has called the officers' actions that night “heinous, reckless and inhumane.”
“This is not just a professional failing. This is a failing of basic humanity toward another individual,” Memphis Police Director Cerelyn “CJ” Davis said in a video statement released late Wednesday 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. In addition, she said “a complete and independent review” will be conducted of the department's specialized units, without providing further details.
Two fire department workers were also removed from duty over the Nichols' arrest.