/PG/ Memphis, Tennessee (Signal High) —– A year after five Memphis police officers beat Tyre Nichols to death, how much do we really know about what happened? How much has really changed? How much confidence do the citizens of Memphis have in their police?
According to police at the time, Tyre Nichols, 29, was stopped for suspicion of reckless driving on Jan. 7, 2023, and there was a “confrontation.”
What police describe as a “confrontation” was, in reality, a brutal and savage beating. Five Memphis police officers struck with fists, boots, holds, throws, batons, pepper spray and tazer shocks to beat Nichols into a bloody mess. He was taken near death to hospital and listed in critical condition. He died on Jan. 10 from blunt force injuries, beaten to death. He was 29, a father.
Memphis Police claimed to have conducted a thorough review and determined that the officers violated departmental policies about excessive use of force, duty to intervene and duty to render aid. The five officers were terminated. A sixth was suspended, and later terminated. Three Memphis emergency workers were also fired for failing to provide adequate medical treatment for Nichols at the scene, and investigations into several other officials commenced for obstructing justice by falsifying reports.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (state police) was engaged and the five were charged with a list of serious crimes, including civil rights abuses, that could result in life in prison plus sixty years.
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Police Department
The five are pictured left, clockwise from top left: Tadarrius Bean, Justin Smith, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr. and Emmitt Martin III.
Former Memphis police officer Preston Hemphill, shown below right, was suspended for violating departmental policies respecting taser deployment. He was later terminated.
The Nichols family was represented by well-known civil rights lawyers, Benjamin Crump and Antonio Romanucci. Crump said of the firings, “This is the first step towards achieving justice for Tyre and his family […] they must also be held accountable for robbing this man of his life and his son of a father.”
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Police Department.
Former police officer Desmond Mills Jr. (pictured below with his attorney, Blake Ballin), 33, has pleaded guilty to felony charges of using excessive force and obstruction of justice as part of a plea deal. He admitted to beating Nichols with a baton, failing to stop others from beating him and neglecting to provide medical assistance or ask other emergency responders for help. He also admitted to making false statements to investigators.
Mills has agreed to “cooperate in the cases against the other former officers.” Prosecutors are recommending Mills be sentenced to fifteen years. The officers were part of a special police unit, the Scorpions. Their mission was to deploy to high-crime areas and use unmarked vehicles to catch crime.
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How do you think the Memphis police handled this terrible event? Do you believe the police officers that beat Tyre Nichols to death will be given a fair sentence? What of the other responders who failed to do their duty?
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