Five police officers were charged with murder after the deadly arrest of Tyre Nichols, a Black man, in Memphis. Nichols reportedly died from his injuries three days after the police officers arrested him.
On the night of January 7, Tyre Nichols, 29, was returning home from a suburban park when he was stopped for reckless driving. Memphis Police Department said that 5 police officers have approached Nichols to arrest him. However, a confrontation happened when Nichols allegedly ran away. Reportedly, a second confrontation even happened before Nichols was finally arrested.An article in CBS News says that according to authorities, after being arrested, Nichols has complained of difficulty in breathing. An ambulance was then called which took Nichols, who was in a critical condition, to a hospital. Unfortunately, three days later, on January 10, Nichols reportedly died from his injuries.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, however, did not elaborate about the injuries. Nichols’ stepfather, Rodney Wells, only stated that his stepson suffered from a kidney failure and cardiac arrest. An independent autopsy commissioned by Nichols’ family also revealed that Nichols suffered from extensive bleeding due to a severe beating.” However, the official cause of death was not revealed to the public.
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Charges Faced by the Officers
According to Conklin, on January 20, the 5 police officers namely Justin Smith, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III, Demetrius Haley, and Tadarrius Bean have been fired from work. All 5 officers also turned themselves in and faced charges of two counts each of official misconduct and two counts each of aggravated kidnapping. They were also charged with one count each of official oppression, one count each of aggravated assault, and one count each of second-degree murder. In total, all 5 officers faced charges of seven counts each. As of yesterday, January 27, all 5 officers have been released from prison after posting a bond.
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