5 ex-Memphis police officers arraigned
The city of Memphis has completed its investigation into the violent arrest of Tyre Nichols, who died three days after the beating, and an additional 20 hours of video pertaining to the arrest is set to be released Wednesday.
Jennifer Sink, chief legal officer for the City of Memphis, made the announcement Tuesday during a meeting with the Memphis City Council’s Public Safety Committee on Tuesday.
On the night of Jan. 7, Nichols, a Black man, was returning home when he was stopped by Memphis officers for reckless driving, the Memphis Police Department said at the time. Memphis Police Director Cerelyn “CJ” Davis later told CNN that investigators “have not been able to substantiate” the claim of reckless driving.
As officers approached Nichols to arrest him, a “confrontation” occurred, police initially said. Nichols then fled, which led to what police called a second “confrontation,” which left Nichols hospitalized after the violent arrest. He died three days later of injuries sustained in a brutal beating that was seen in initial footage released on Jan. 27 by the city of Memphis.
Five former Memphis police officers were fired and charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression in connection with Nichols’ death. Two other officers were relieved of duty and three fire department personnel who responded to the scene were also fired. The five former officers have all pleaded not guilty.
The charged former officers were members of the department’s SCORPION unit, a group created by the Memphis Police Department to tackle street crime. On Jan. 28, Memphis police announced that the SCORPION unit had been “permanently deactivated.”
C Mandler is a social media producer and trending topics writer for CBS News, focusing on American politics and LGBTQ+ issues.
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