Current:Home > MyRobert Brown|5 former Memphis officers indicted by federal grand jury in Tyre Nichols' death -Wealth Evolution Experts
Robert Brown|5 former Memphis officers indicted by federal grand jury in Tyre Nichols' death
Chainkeen Exchange View
Date:2025-04-09 20:25:48
Five former Memphis police officers have Robert Brownbeen indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with the death of Tyre Nichols.
Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith, Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr. were indicted on charges relating to the deprivation of rights under color of law, including excessive force and failure to intervene as well as deliberate indifference, and conspiracy to witness-tamper, according to court records.
Nichols, 29, died on Jan. 10, three days after a violent confrontation with police following a traffic stop.
All five former officers also face state felony charges, including second-degree murder, aggravated assault and aggravated kidnapping, in connection with Nichols' death. They pleaded not guilty.
"Tyre Nichols should be alive today," Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, said in a statement. "It is tragic to see a life cut short at 29, with so many milestones unmet, so many words unsaid, so much potential unfulfilled. These federal charges reflect the Justice Department's unwavering commitment to protecting the constitutional and civil rights of every American and preserving the integrity of the criminal justice system. We stand ready to hold law enforcement officers accountable for their misconduct because no one is above the law in our country."
Mike Stengel, the attorney for Haley in his state case, confirmed he will also be representing him on the federal charges.
"The indictment is disappointing, but not surprising," Stengel told ABC News. "He'll plead not guilty and defend himself in court."
William Massey, who represents Martin, said, "We have been expecting it and are ready to move forward." Bean's attorney, John Perry, said he had no comment.
The indictment outlines in detail what prosecutors allege were efforts by the five officers to brutally assault Nichols, purposely ignore his need for immediate medical care and later seek to cover up their actions.
Each of the defendants, according to the indictment, were involved in beating Nichols during the Jan. 7 traffic stop and none relayed information about their assault to the Memphis police dispatcher, their supervisor or the EMTs and paramedics who were coming to the scene.
MORE: Tyre Nichols: Timeline of investigation into his death
The officers allegedly spoke at the scene about how they had struck Nichols, "including hitting Nichols with straight haymakers and taking turns hitting him with so many pieces," but they also did not relay that information to first responders or their supervisors even as his condition "deteriorated and he became unresponsive," the indictment alleges.
The indictment also alleges the officers used their body-worn cameras to limit the capture of evidence, with Martin moving his body cam to a location where their assault of Nichols wouldn't be captured and Haley and Smith only activating their cameras after the group attacked Nichols.
After EMTs arrived, Haley and Mills removed their body-worn cameras and the group allegedly discussed their assault of Nichols making statements like, "Everybody rocking his a**, Pop pop, please fall; and I thought when he wasn't going to fall, we about to kill this man."
Afterward. at the police station, the group met and lied to an MPD detective about the arrest for the Incident Report, the indictment alleges, claiming Nichols had actively resisted arrest "by pulling gun belts" and grabbing one officer by his vest. Mills and Smith also falsely told the detective that "Nichols was so strong that he lifted two officers into the air."
The group further omitted information about how they had punched and kicked Nichols and the eventual incident report falsely stated that, "After several verbal command[s], Detectives were able to get the suspect Tyre Nichols in custody."
ABC News' Stephanie Wash contributed to this report.
veryGood! (92)
Related
- California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- This is America's most common text-messaging scam, FTC says
- Today’s Climate: August 17, 2010
- Today’s Climate: August 3, 2010
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Killer Proteins: The Science Of Prions
- Nobel Prize in Chemistry Honors 3 Who Enabled a ‘Fossil Fuel-Free World’ — with an Exxon Twist
- The Fate of Vanderpump Rules and More Bravo Series Revealed
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- Stop hurting your own feelings: Tips on quashing negative self-talk
Ranking
- Tarte Shape Tape Concealer Sells Once Every 4 Seconds: Get 50% Off Before It's Gone
- This week on Sunday Morning (June 11)
- Daily meditation may work as well as a popular drug to calm anxiety, study finds
- The bear market is finally over. Here's why investors see better days ahead.
- NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
- Today’s Climate: August 5, 2010
- Persistent Water and Soil Contamination Found at N.D. Wastewater Spills
- Today’s Climate: August 11, 2010
Recommendation
Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
Today’s Climate: August 12, 2010
How climate change is raising the cost of food
Ice-T Says His and Coco Austin’s 7-Year-Old Daughter Chanel Still Sleeps in Their Bed
Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
Obama’s Climate Leaders Launch New Harvard Center on Health and Climate
2024 dark horse GOP presidential candidate Doug Burgum launches campaign with $3 million ad buy
Dozens of Countries Take Aim at Climate Super Pollutants