5 Former Memphis Officers Charged With Murder in Tyre Nichols Death

Five former Memphis police officers have been arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the Jan. 10 death of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, a black man. Now-fired Memphis Police Department officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith—who are also black—have been accused of severely beating Nichols during a Jan. 7 traffic stop. On Thursday, the five officers were charged with second-degree murder. The officers were also charged with aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping resulting in bodily injury, aggravated kidnapping involving possession of a weapon, official misconduct through the unauthorized exercise of power, official misconduct through the failure to act upon a lawful duty, and official oppression. All five officers face the same set of charges. Nichols was initially pulled over for a traffic stop for reckless driving. During the stop, Nichols and the responding officers reportedly had a "confrontation" after which Nichols fled. When the officers caught up with Nichols, they allegedly beat him. Nichols died in a hospital on Jan. 10, three days after sustaining injuries during his arrest. On Jan. 20, MPD announced it had fired Bean, Haley, Martin, Mills, and Smith after determining they "violated multiple department policies, including excessive use of force, duty to intervene, and duty to render aid." On Wednesday, Nichols's family was able to see the arrest footage. Attorney Antonio Romanucci described the police encounter as an "unadulterated, unabashed, non-stop beating of this young boy for three minutes," adding, "he was a human piñata for those police officers." During a Thursday press conference, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said each of the five officers played a different role in their interaction with Nichols, but "the actions of all of them resulted in the death of Tyre Nichols and they are all responsible." Ahead of the charging decision, Martin's attorney, William Massey, told Reuters: "We are waiting to get the indictment. We will know particularly what charges have been brought and we will go from there."