(CNN) — Nearly three weeks after a traffic stop in Memphis, Tennessee led to the violent arrest and subsequent death of driver Tyre Nichols, police are expected to publicly release footage of the incident.
According to police, Tyr Nichols, a 29-year-old black man, was hospitalized following his arrest on January 7 and died three days later. Five Memphis Police Department officers, also black, were fired after an internal investigation and face criminal charges.
Nichols’ family and their attorneys met with police and city officials to view video recordings of the traffic stop, which has been described as a brutal and prolonged beating, which was caused by officers pursuing the fleeing Nichols. Lasted for a few minutes.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelin “CJ” Davis condemned the officers’ conduct, adding that the investigation into the other officers was ongoing.
“It’s not just a professional mess,” Davis said. “This is about a failure of basic humanity toward another person. This incident was egregious, reckless and inhumane. And in the interest of transparency, you will see for yourself when the video is released in the next few days.”
Here’s what we know about the timeline of the incident, the investigation by authorities, and the reaction of Nichols’ family:
January 7: Traffic shutdown with fatalities
According to a statement from Memphis Police, on January 7 at approximately 8:30 a.m. local time, officers stopped a vehicle on suspicion of reckless driving.
According to Memphis police, “a confrontation ensued between officers and the driver of the vehicle, who was later identified as Nichols, fled on foot. Officers detained him and “another confrontation” resulted in Nichols’ arrest. Police.
An ambulance was called to the arrest after Nichols complained of difficulty breathing and was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition, according to police.
On January 10, three days after his arrest, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) announced that Nichols had died from injuries sustained in a “use of force incident with officers”.
January 15 – Police update investigation
Memphis police said that after the traffic stop, the officers involved were relieved of their duties, launching an investigation into the use of force, a standard departmental procedure. The TBI and Shelby County District Attorney’s Office joined the investigation.
Police said preliminary results indicated the seriousness of the officers’ conduct during the stop.
“After reviewing various sources of information regarding this incident, I have come to the conclusion that immediate and appropriate action is necessary,” Chief Davis said in a statement issued on January 15.
“Today, the department is notifying the agents involved of impending administrative actions,” he added.
The statement said the department needs to complete a necessary process before disciplining or dismissing public administration employees.
In the days following Nichols’ death, his family attorney, Ben Crump, repeatedly expressed a desire that recordings from body cameras and traffic stop surveillance be made public.
“This type of custodial death destroys community trust if agencies are not transparent quickly,” Crump said in a statement.
January 18: Federal investigation announced
On January 18, the Justice Department announced an open civil rights investigation into Nichols’ death.
“Last week, Tyr Nichols tragically died just days after Memphis Police Department officers were involved in an incident that used force during his arrest,” Kevin G. Ritz, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, said in a statement. “
While acknowledging the ongoing efforts of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the District Attorney’s Office “in coordination with the FBI Memphis Field Office and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, has launched a civil rights investigation,” Ritz declined to provide details. Where did you go? ,
January 20: Police officers are appointed and fired
The Memphis Police Department fired five officers in connection with the death of Tyra Nichols. Above: Taddeus Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III. Bottom: Desmond Mills, Jr., Justin Smith Credit: Memphis Police Department
Following their internal investigation, Memphis Police identified and terminated five officers involved in the traffic stop due to violations of multiple department policies.
Officers Taddeus Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills, Jr. and Justin Smith were charged with violating their “use of excessive force, their duty to intervene and their duty to render assistance,” the department said in a statement. Was fired for. release.
“The horrific nature of this incident is not a reflection of the conscientiously good work our officers do every day,” Davis said.
A statement from the Memphis Police Association, the union representing the officers, declined to comment on the firing, saying the city of Memphis and the Nichols family “deserve to know the full details of the events leading up to his death and what may have happened.” have contributed”.
Crump and Antonio Romanucci, attorneys for the Nichols family, called the dismissal of the five officers “the first step in seeking justice for Tyre and his family.”
Two Memphis Fire Department employees who were part of Nichols’ “initial patient care” have also been fired, the department’s public information officer, Quanesha Ward, told CNN’s Nadia Romero.
January 23: The family saw the video of the police
After meeting with officers to view unreleased police video prior to the arrest, Nichols’ family and their attorneys described their horror at what they saw.
“He was helpless the whole time. He was a human piñata for those cops. It was a complete beating, shameless, continuous beating of this young man for three minutes. That’s what we saw in that video,” Romanucci said. “It wasn’t just violent, it was wild.”
Rodney Wells, Nichols’ stepfather, said Monday, “What I saw in the video today was horrifying.” “No father, no mother should witness what I saw today.”
Crump described the video as “appalling”, “outrageous” and “appalling”. He added that Nichols’ mother Ravanne Wells was unable to watch the first minute of the recording, when Nichols asked, “What did I do?” The attorney said that at the end of the recording, Nichols was heard calling for his mother three times.
According to the preliminary results of an autopsy performed by his family’s attorneys, Nichols suffered “extensive hemorrhaging due to severe beatings”. CNN requested a copy of the autopsy, which Crump says will be available when the full report is ready.
The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office has not yet announced whether anyone will be charged in the case. District Attorney Steve Mulroy told CNN on Tuesday that his office is making sure all necessary interviews have been done with those involved before the images are released.
“A lot of people’s questions about what really happened will be answered once people see the video,” Mulroy said, adding that he believed the city was responsible for “the entire incident” from start to finish. Will release enough footage to show. End”.
