Tyre Nichols.Photo: Adrian Sainz/AP/Shutterstock
Preliminary findings from an independent autopsy onTyre Nichols— who died following an alleged violent encounter with the Memphis Police earlier this month — show he suffered extreme injuries, according to Benjamin Crump and Antonio Romanucci, two attorneys representing his family.
In astatement posted on Twitter, the lawyers say the recently completed autopsy showed that Nichols was beaten so severely he experienced “extensive bleeding.” The statement also alleges police “brutalized him to the point he was unrecognizable.”
After the Jan. 7 incident with Tyre Nichols, two Memphis firefighters involved in his “initial patient care” were"relieved of duty"from their jobs, multiple outlets report.
Nichols was pulled over for alleged reckless driving on Jan. 7 around 8:30 pm.In a statement, Memphis police said more than one “confrontation occurred” after officers approached Nichols' vehicle and he allegedly fled on foot.
Demetrius Haley.Uncredited/AP/Shutterstock
Officers eventually arrested him and Nichols allegedly began to complain about being short of breath. An ambulance transported him to St. Francis Hospital in critical condition. He died three days later, and an image of him in the hospital appears to show his face bruised and bloodied.
Nichols' family recently viewed the body camera footage of his arrest for the first time, multiple outlets report, and they allege the clip shows officers savagely beating, restraining and tasing him.
At a press conference atMt. Olive Cathedral CME Churchin Memphis, Nichols' stepfather Rodney Wells said, “Our son ran because he was scared for his life.”
“I don’t care what color — black, white, pink, purple, should [never] go through this,” Nichols' mother, Ravaughn Wells, said at the press conference. “My son didn’t do no drug[s], didn’t carry no guns, he didn’t like confrontation, none of that, that’s why this is so hard.”
At the press conference, Wells described her son as a “beautiful soul” who had her name tattooed on his arm. The family also said he loved photography, skateboarding, and computers,per CNN.
Family attorney Crump said the video of the arrest — which has not yet been publicly released — “reminded us of the [1991 LAPD]Rodney Kingvideo,” calling it “deplorable” and “heinous, violent … troublesome on every level.”
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Crump’s co-counsel Romanucci described the video’s contents as “an unadulterated, unabashed nonstop beating of this young boy for three minutes,” calling the officers' actions “savage” and excessive. Crump said Nichols cried out for his mother several times during the incident.
The five officers involved in Nichols' arrest — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith — have been terminated from their jobs in the aftermath of the incident.
Speaking about the decision to terminate them, Police Chief Cerelyn Davissaid in a statement: “After a thorough review of the circumstances … we have determined that five Memphis Police Department officers violated multiple department policies, including excessive use of force, duty to intervene, and duty to render aid.”
Davis also said the department is working with the district attorney’s office and will eventually release the video of the traffic stop to the public.
“We understand and agree that transparency around the events surrounding the death of Mr. Tyre Nichols is critically important, especially the release of the video footage,” Mayor Jim Strickland and Chief CJ Davis said in a Jan. 17 statement, noting that the video will be released “after the completion of the internal investigation into the actions of the officers and after the family of Mr. Nichols has had the opportunity to review the video privately.”
In the meantime, Nichols' family is pushing for justice, and hopes murder charges will be levied against the involved officers. “Where is the humanity? [They] just beat him like a dog in the street,” Wells said.
“All my son was trying to do was get home. He was two minutes from the house when they stopped him. He was less than 80 yards away,” she continued.
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source: people.com
