EXPLAINER
Five police officers have been charged with the murder of 29-year-old Tire Nichols.
Who is Tire Nichols?
Nichols was a Black car driver who died on January 10 in the hospital three days after he was beaten by the police at a traffic stop.
Nichols, 29, is a FedEx worker and the father of a four-year-old boy. He is described by his family as a “good kid” who enjoys skateboarding and photography.
According to a media report, “he works a second shift and will return to his mother’s house at around 7 p.m. daily for a meal break.”
What happened to Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee?
Police said they attempted to arrest Nichols on January 7 for reckless driving and a “confrontation occurred” when he tried to flee the scene on foot.
His family and lawyers, who allowed to see body camera footage about the incident on Monday, said footage showed officers beating Nichols, who was taken to a local hospital, where he died three days later.
The footage has not been released to the public, but lawyers say the video shows him being beaten for three minutes in what they call a “barbaric” encounter.
What is the latest information on the investigation?
Five police officers from the Memphis Police Department have been charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.
Five men, all Black, were fired last week following an administrative investigation into the incident.
Second-degree murder carries a penalty of 15 to 60 years in prison under Tennessee law.
Who are these five police officers?
The former officers – Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith – are all currently in custody.
One of them, Haley, has previously been charged with excessive use of force. He was named a defendant in a 2016 federal civil rights lawsuit while working for the Shelby County Correctional Department.
The plaintiff, Cordarrlrius Sledge, said he was an inmate in 2015 when Haley and another correctional officer accused him of transporting contraband. Two officers “hit me in the face with punches,” according to the complaint.
What happens next?
Memphis Police Superintendent Cerelyn Davis promised “absolute responsibility” to those responsible for Nichols’ death, calling the incident “cruel, reckless and inhumane”.
Video of the traffic stop will be made available to the public Friday night, and Davis said she expects people in the community to react, but urges them to do so peacefully.
“None of these are cards that call for violence or destruction of our community or against our citizens,” she said.
