Five former Memphis police officers are now facing federal civil rights charges in the beating death of Tyre Nichols as they continue to fight second-degree murder charges in state courts arising from the killing.
Tadarrius Bean, Desmond Mills, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin and Justin Smith were indicted on Tuesday in US district court in Memphis. The four-count indictment charges each of them with deprivation of rights under the color of law through excessive force and failure to intervene, and through deliberate indifference; conspiracy to witness tampering; and obstruction of justice through witness tampering.
The new charges come nine months after the violent beating of Nichols by police officers during a 7 January traffic stop near his home in Memphis. Nichols died at a hospital three days later, and the five officers have pleaded not guilty to state charges of second-degree murder and other alleged offenses in connection with the case.
“Tyre Nichols should be alive today,” said Merrick Garland during a press conference on Tuesday announcing the federal charges. “The country watched in horror as Mr Nichols was kicked, punched, Tased and pepper sprayed. We all heard him cry out for his mother and say, ‘I’m just trying to go home.’”
Garland added that the five officers not only violated Nichols’ civil rights, but they “conspired to cover up their crimes, including by falsely stating that Mr Nichols had actively resisted arrest”. The department of justice also alleges that the officers lied to emergency responders about striking him repeatedly.
“Officers who violate the civil rights of those they are sworn to protect undermine public safety which depends on the community’s trust in law enforcement,” Garland added.
Blake Ballin, an attorney representing Mills on the state criminal charges, said the federal indictment “is not unexpected” and Mills would defend himself against the federal charges as he is doing in state court. There was no immediate response from attorneys for other defendants in the case.
Caught on police video, the beating of the 29-year-old Nichols was one in a string of violent encounters between police and Black people that sparked protests and renewed debate about police brutality and police reform in the US.
The justice department announced an investigation in July into how Memphis police department officers use force and conduct arrests, one of several “patterns and practices” investigations it has undertaken in other US cities.
In March, the justice department said it was conducting a separate review concerning use of force, de-escalation strategies and specialized units in the Memphis police department. Federal investigators are also looking specifically into Nichols’ arrest and death. And Nichols’ mother has sued the city and its police chief over her son’s death.
Additionally, the indictment alleges that the officers used their body cameras to limit what evidence could be captured at the scene, the Associated Press reports. Martin moved his body camera where it wouldn’t show video of the beating; Haley and Smith activated theirs only after the assault; and Haley and Mills took theirs off when emergency medical personnel were on the scene.
Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, attorneys for Nichols’ family, said in a statement that the federal indictment “gives [Nichols’] family hope as they continue to grieve his loss and inspire change in his honor”.
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