Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old black man, was beaten to death by officers of the Memphis police’s SCORPION (Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods) unit. On the evening of January 7th, five police officers pulled him over during a traffic stop for allegedly driving recklessly, but that claim has not been substantiated. He was removed from his car and beaten on the ground for three minutes as he told officers he did nothing wrong. Nichols got up and ran, and continued to be hit by officers further down the street. After being taken to the hospital, Nichols died on January 10th due to his injuries.
The officers who had committed the assault on Nichols were Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith, all of whom were also black. On January 26th, they were all charged for second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression.
On January 27th, the police department released the event’s body and street camera footage, which shows the officers pulling Nichols over as he is driving home. The officers approach Nichols with their guns raised. He drops to the ground and offers little resistance as the officers surround, grab, and threaten him. They then kicked and pepper sprayed Nichols as he was lying on the ground. He then gets up, runs from the situation, and is tased in the back. He runs closer to his home before the police officers catch up and continue beating and kicking him as he begs them repeatedly to stop. Nobody provided aid to Nichols until he stated that he was having trouble breathing. The violent confrontation ended with his hospitalization, being in critical condition.
Tyre Nichols lived with his mother and worked at FedEx. He was an amateur photographer and enjoyed photographing the sunset. He had a four-year-old son and his mother’s name tattooed on his shoulder. Tyre cried out for his mother as the Memphis police officers beat him repeatedly until his hospitalization.
The men who were at the center of the incident were all from the Memphis SCORPION Unit members. The Memphis Police department developed the SCORPION unit for specialized street crime. Even before Tyre Nichols’s death and beating, the unit had been well known for using harsh and aggressive means to stop crimes, including rushing in on their target and shouting at people to get out of their cars and onto the ground. This was done to Davitus Collier, aged 32, as he went to buy beer for his father last May. It happened a month ago to Monterrious Harris, who was 22, outside an apartment complex where he said he was waiting to spend time with his cousin. This alleged misconduct combined with public outcry over Nichols’ arrest and death led the Memphis police department to disband the SCORPION unit and fire all officers involved in the traffic stop. They also fired a sixth officer for having tased Tyre Nichols in the first confrontation. Further consequences included the firing of two sheriff deputies officers and three fire department employees. The mayor of Memphis, Mayor Jim Strickland, also announced that the Department of Justice and the International Association of Chiefs of Police would conduct an independent external review of the Memphis Police Department’s special units and use of force policies.
The officers accused in this case will be arraigned on February 17th. The hearing will take place at 10am ET before Shelby County criminal court judge James Jones. Reaction around the country has been swift and clear.
Vice President Harris stated, “Yet, once again, America mourns the life of a son and father brutally cut short at the hands of those sworn to protect and serve.” The injustice of Tyre Nichols was tragic, but he wasn’t the first, nor will he be the last, as the Vice President further stated, “Congress must act with urgency and pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. To truly honor Tyre Nichols’ memory and the memory of so many others before him, we must demand that our justice system lives up to its name.” President Joe Biden said, “Real and lasting change will only come if we take action to prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again.” There have been countless others like Tyre Nichols who face injustice and lose their lives at the hands of the law. No matter the race of the officer, the people who are being killed are all people of color, a phenomena that doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.