5 former officers charged with murder in connection with Tyre Nichols’ death

According to online jail records, the five Memphis police officers who were fired in connection with the death of Tyre Nichols after a Jan. 7 traffic stop have each been charged with murder and were taken into custody on Thursday.

The officers were identified last week as Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith. Thursday, all five were booked into Shelby County Jail.

The officers have each been booked on several felonies, including second-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, official misconduct, and official oppression, according to online jail records.

In Tennessee, second-degree murder is either “an unplanned, intentional killing (reacting to the heat of the moment when angry) or a death caused by a reckless disregard for human life,” according to a press release from the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office. A first-degree murder charge in the state is defined as a premeditated, intentional killing or a felony murder, which differs from this.

According to a press release from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, bonds were set at $350,000 for Martin and Haley, and $250,000 for Bean, Mills and Smith.

Jail records online as of early Friday morning show that Bean, Martin, Mills, and Smith have all been released after posting bond. Haley is the only one still in custody according to the records, but it looks like he has posted bail.

“Mills’ lawyer, Blake Ballin, and the attorney for Martin, William Massey, have not yet seen video of the Jan. 7 incident, but they have assured the press that their clients will be pleading not guilty to the charges,” said the lawyers. Their clients were “devastated” about the charges, they said.

“We all want this process to be fair,” Ballin told reporters on Thursday.

Although there have been no public announcements of other defense attorneys representing the officers, Ballin and Massey told reporters that all former officers are currently represented.

The officers were charged on multiple counts by Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy, joined by TBI Director David Rausch and other members of the state agency, on Thursday afternoon.

Mulroy said that nothing done today precludes the addition of any further charges against any of the people involved.

At this time, the investigation into Nichols’ death is still ongoing.

“It’s absolutely appalling,” Rausch added. “I want to be very clear that the events that transpired do not reflect proper policing methods in any way.” This is wrong. This was a crime.

“The news of the charges gives us hope as we continue to push for justice for Tyre,” said Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, the lawyers representing Nichols’ family, in a joint statement on Thursday.

“This young man lost his life in a particularly disgusting manner,” they added. “This 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 video of the Jan. 7 incident is made up of footage from the city’s surveillance cameras and the former officers’ body-worn cameras. The release is expected to be on Friday evening, but it has not yet been made public.

The video has already been seen by Nichols’ family and their attorneys. Crump told ABC News that the footage was “tragic” and “so difficult to watch,” and he described Nichols as a “gentle soul.”

“Even though he’s being brutalized, you can still see the humanity in Tyre,” Crump said during an interview Thursday night on ABC News Live Prime. Why do they continue to escalate? It’s troubling on so many levels. They never calm down. It’s so heart-wrenching at the end when he calls for his mother three times. Cries for his mother that are heart wrenching. He never says another word again.

“The family is relieved and thankful that the charges were brought today,” Crump said of Nichols’ family.

He added that what he found, in his almost 25 years of doing civil rights work in America, is that the race of the police officer is not the determining factor of whether they are going to engage in excessive use of force. But it is oftentimes Black and brown citizens who bear the brunt of this police brutality. We see that our unarmed white brothers and sisters do not encounter this type of excessive force at the hands of police.

Earlier this week, Rodney Wells, Nichols’ stepfather, told ABC News that the family is seeking a first-degree murder charge. Mulroy said Thursday that he had met with the family about the charges brought and expedited the investigation.

The Memphis Police Department launched the SCORPION Unit, an acronym for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace In Our Neighborhoods, in 2021. All five officers charged were part of this unit. The 50-person unit operates seven days a week and was created to address violent crimes in the city.

The department states that the officers violated policies for use of force, duty to intervene and duty to render aid.

Other officers in the Memphis Police Department are also under investigation for department violations, the department announced this week.

“The five officers were directly responsible for the physical abuse” of Nichols and that the video footage of the incident was “heinous, reckless and inhumane,” said Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis in a video statement released Thursday.

“It is our citizens’ First Amendment right to protest and demand action and results, but we need to take measures to make sure our community is safe while they are doing so,” Davis said. This is not a call to violence or destruction against our community or citizens.

Governor Bill Haslam of Tennessee has endorsed a presidential candidate. “Cruel, criminal abuse of power will not be tolerated” in his state, Bill Lee said on Thursday.

“These individuals do not represent the honorable men and women of law enforcement and they must be brought to justice for this tragic loss,” Lee added. This unit has experienced misconduct and failure and the City of Memphis and Memphis Police Department need to take a hard look at what has occurred. I am pleased that the city is pursuing an external, impartial investigation, which I discussed with Mayor Strickland.

Meanwhile, in a statement Thursday, President Joe Biden said Nichols’ death is “a painful reminder that we must do more to ensure that our criminal justice system lives up to the promise of fair and impartial justice, equal treatment, and dignity for all.”

When the official video footage is released, authorities have warned law enforcement agencies of the reaction that may transpire.

Jeff Bledsoe, President of the Tennessee Sheriff’s Association, sent a letter to Jonathan Thompson, Executive Director and CEO of the National Sheriffs’ Association, on Wednesday in anticipation of the public reaction to the video’s release.

The letter read, “due to the nature of the video’s contents, it is believed it may spark responses outside of the traditional protests.” There is a public safety risk potential to communities and peace officers if they expand outside of the Shelby County (Memphis) TN area.

“In the interest of public safety,” Memphis-Shelby County Schools announced that it has cancelled all after-school activities and athletic events for Friday as the city braces for the release of the video. Tennessee’s largest public school district postponed a previously scheduled showcase for Saturday until Feb. 4.

“We are devastated by the loss of Tyre Nichols, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and all those affected by this tragedy,” Memphis-Shelby County Schools said in a message to parents on Thursday. We will announce a decision about Saturday’s additional activities and games by 10 p.m. Friday evening.

After being pulled over for “reckless driving” on Jan. 7, an altercation between Nichols and Memphis officers led to him being hospitalized in critical condition after complaining of shortness of breath during the arrest. Nichols died three days later.

The lawyers for Nichols’ family released a preliminary independent autopsy which showed that Nichols “suffered from ‘extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating.'”

Neither the independent autopsy report nor the official autopsy report has been publicly released.

The U.S. Department of Justice continues to investigate the incident.