Tyre Nichols case: 20 more hours of footage to be released, more officials charged
Written by ABC Audio. All rights reserved. on March 7, 2023
(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — About 20 more hours of police video and audio in the Tyre Nichols case will be released Wednesday afternoon, according to City of Memphis Chief Legal Officer Jennifer Sink.
Nichols, 29, died several days after a violent Jan. 7 traffic stop captured in body camera footage, which shows officers striking Nichols repeatedly.
His death has prompted protests and unrest across the country.
In a Tuesday city council meeting, Sink announced that the internal investigations resulted in four Memphis Fire Department personnel being charged, and 13 Memphis Police Department personnel being charged. According to Sink, these are not criminal investigations, but rather administrative investigations.
Of the 13 MPD personnel charged, seven were terminated, three officers received a suspension, two had their charges dismissed and one individual resigned in lieu of termination, Sink said. The charges and disciplinary decisions will be officially posted on Wednesday alongside the latest round of released footage, she said.
All officers directly involved in Nichols’ beating were part of the first round of terminations and criminal charges, Sink said.
Those five officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith — have pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and other charges in Nichols’ beating and subsequent death.
A sixth officer was fired and a seventh has been relieved of duty in the wake of Nichols’ death, officials said.
Another officer, who was suspended, “did place hands on [Nichols’] legs,” Sink said, but asserted that it was not a strike or assault.
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