Five Memphis police officers who were involved in the arrest of Tyre Nichols – who died three days after a traffic stop earlier this month – have been fired, the department announced Friday.
The five officers were dismissed following an “internal investigation” which determined that they “violated multiple department policies, including excessive force, duty to intervene, and duty to render aid,” Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis said in a statement.
There was a confrontation as officers approached the driver, and he ran before he was confronted again by the pursuing officers, who arrested him, authorities said. He complained of shortness of breath and was hospitalized. Officials said a cause of death has not yet been determined.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the state’s police agency, said Nichols died Jan. 10. The agency is conducting a use-of-force investigation at the request of Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy.
The five officers who were fired are all Black, according to a Memphis Police public information officer.
The five officers who were fired are all Black, according to a Memphis Police public information officer.
Federal authorities announced Wednesday they were launching a civil rights investigation into the actions of Memphis police.
Relatives have said that the officers who pulled over Nichols were in an unmarked vehicle and that he experienced cardiac arrest and kidney failure because of a beating by officers.
Davis and Mayor Jim Strickland said Tuesday that video footage of the arrest will be released after the police department’s investigation is completed and the family can review it.
After initially declining comment on the Justice Department’s investigation, the city of Memphis sent out a statement late Wednesday afternoon saying it will fully cooperate with the federal agencies conducting the probe.
At a memorial service for Nichols on Tuesday, family and friends remembered him as a joyful, lovable man who worked making boxes at FedEx, enjoyed skateboarding and regularly drank coffee and chatted with friends at Starbucks. Some of those in attendance wore T-shirts that read “Justice for Tyre,” and “Skate in Peace.”
The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee said in a statement this week that the FBI field office in Memphis and the civil rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice are now investigating the death of Tyre Nichols, 29.
The investigations stem from a Jan. 7 traffic stop.
According to Memphis police, Nichols was pulled over for “reckless driving.”
Officers said a confrontation occurred during that traffic stop. Nichols allegedly took off on foot, and officers chased him. Davis and Mayor Jim Strickland said Tuesday that video footage of the arrest will be released after the police department’s investigation is completed and the family can review it.
After initially declining comment on the Justice Department’s investigation, the city of Memphis sent out a statement late Wednesday afternoon saying it will fully cooperate with the federal agencies conducting the probe.
At a memorial service for Nichols on Tuesday, family and friends remembered him as a joyful, lovable man who worked making boxes at FedEx, enjoyed skateboarding and regularly drank coffee and chatted with friends at Starbucks. Some of those in attendance wore T-shirts that read “Justice for Tyre,” and “Skate in Peace.”
When Nichols complained of having shortness of breath, police said, he was taken to the hospital.
He died in the hospital on Jan. 10, less than three days later.
Friends and family of Nichols are now remembering him as positive and kind and a person “willing to go to any length for anyone.”
“He walked into a room and everyone smiled,” said Angelina Paxton, longtime friend and organizer of a GoFundMe page for Nichols’ family. “He was the kind of man we needed in this world.”
Meeting in their teen years and remaining friends all through their early adulthood, Paxton and Nichols stayed connected, even after Nichols left Sacramento, according to Paxton, to live closer to his mother in Tennessee.
“We met at church,” Paxton said. “We met at our youth group Flipt 180 in Natomas and a lot of people would know what that is. It was a very popular youth group.”
Nichols would never visit Sacramento again.
Paxton said she was in disbelief after seeing a photo, shared by Nichols’ family, showing him in the hospital, severely injured, in the days following his arrest after the traffic stop.
“To see him like that, I never could imagine. Never could imagine his face ever looking like that, she said. “I can’t imagine anyone ever doing that to him.”
Nichols’ family is having a difficult time believing what police said happened in his final hours to a man, who they said, very much respected the work of law enforcement officers.
“There’s no way. There’s no way. I know this man. I’ve known him for years,” she said. “He doesn’t do drugs, he doesn’t drink. He was avid about his faith in God.”
Paxton said she is in continuous contact with Nichols’ family. The family said it will be viewing body camera video from the five officers involved on Monday. It’s not clear when or if the video will be released publicly.
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