Tyre Nichols death: Five former Memphis police officers charged with murder: "This was wrong. This was criminal" - CBS News

Five fired Memphis constabulary officers were charged with second-degree execution successful the decease of Tyre Nichols, Tennessee authorities announced Thursday. Nichols died 3 days aft a convulsive apprehension by constabulary earlier this month.

"This was wrong. This was criminal," Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch said during a property league announcing the charges.

A expansive assemblage handed down indictments against Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills, Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith connected charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, authoritative misconduct and authoritative oppression, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said.

Mulroy said though the fired officers each played antithetic roles successful the decease of Nichols, "they are each responsible."

Video footage of the apprehension would beryllium released Friday sometime aft 6 p.m., Mulroy said. The footage has been shown to Nichols' family, but has not yet been made public.

Ben Crump, the lawyer representing Nichols' family, said constabulary video the household viewed showed that Nichols — a 29-year-old FedEx idiosyncratic and begetter — was shocked, pepper-sprayed and restrained erstwhile helium was pulled implicit for a postulation halt adjacent his home.

Rausch said helium saw the video and recovered it "absolutely appalling."

"Let maine beryllium clear: What happened present does not astatine each bespeak due policing," helium said.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland thanked officials for moving swiftly to occurrence and indict the officers involved. 

"We person worked to get a solution to these matters successful grounds clip due to the fact that we instrumentality them highly seriously," helium said successful a recorded statement on Thursday. 

"Since learning of this tragic event, transparency and swift methodical enactment person been our apical priorities due to the fact that the household of Mr. Nichols and our citizens merit thing less," Strickland said. "The actions of these officers were awful, and nary one, including instrumentality enforcement, is supra the law. I guarantee you we volition bash everything we tin to support this benignant of heinous enactment from happening again."

The politician said that it was " wide that these officers violated the department's policies and training," and said that officials are moving to guarantee a concern similar this does not hap again.

Memphis Police Director Cerelyn "CJ" Davis made a plea to residents of the metropolis to protestation peacefully erstwhile video of the apprehension is released. She has called the fired officers' actions that nighttime "heinous, reckless and inhumane."

"This is not conscionable a nonrecreational failing. This is simply a failing of basal humanity toward different individual," Davis said successful a video statement that was released precocious Wednesday connected societal media.

The 5 officers recovered to beryllium "directly liable for the carnal maltreatment of Mr. Nichols" were fired past week, but Davis said different officers are inactive being investigated for violating section policy. Nichols was Black, arsenic are the 5 officers progressive successful the arrest.

A representation of Tyre Nichols is displayed astatine a memorial work for him connected Jan. 17, 2023, successful Memphis, Tennessee. Nichols was killed pursuing a postulation halt with Memphis Police connected Jan. 7. He died 3 days later, connected Jan. 10. Adrian Sainz / AP

Court records don't database attorneys for Smith, Bean oregon Haley. Martin's lawyer, William Massey, confirmed that his lawsuit had turned himself in. He and Mills' lawyer, Blake Ballin, said Thursday astatine a property league that they person inactive not seen footage of the arrest. The attorneys stressed that contempt however affectional the lawsuit is, their clients are entitled to owed process. 

"There are galore allegations made against the officers and I watched the conference, and Mulroy did a bully occupation presenting his broadside to the media and helium asked for justness and we agree," Massey said. "Justice means pursuing the law. And the instrumentality says nary 1 is blameworthy until the assemblage says they're guilty."

Massey said that nary of the officers intended to termination Nichols. 

"No 1 retired determination that nighttime intended for Tyre Nichols to die," Massey told reporters. "No one. No one. Police officers person a hard and unsafe job. It's astir apt 1 of their worst fears that thing similar this would hap connected their watch."

Ballin said the apprehension is causing Mills' household "a batch of anxiousness and pain," and said that helium is acrophobic astir Mills' and the community's safety. Mills was posting enslaved and was successful the process of being released from jail, Ballin added. 

Ballin defended Mills' quality and said his lawsuit was "devastated" by the charges against him. 

"I've spent immoderate clip with Mills," Ballin said. "He is known locally and backmost wherever he's from successful Connecticut. He's a gentle father. He's devastated to beryllium charged with a crime. To beryllium accused of thing similar this hurts him connected different level."

Second-degree execution is simply a people A felony punishable by 15 to 60 years successful situation nether Tennessee law.

Nichols' stepfather, Rodney Wells, told the AP by telephone that helium and his woman RowVaughn Wells, who is Nichols' mother, discussed the second-degree execution charges and are "fine with it." They had pushed for first-degree execution charges.

"There's different charges, truthful I'm each close with that," helium said.

Wells, who earlier this week called for immoderate protests that hap erstwhile the video is released to stay peaceful, besides said helium is "ecstatic" that authorities person moved rapidly successful the case.

Crump and Antonio Romanucci, different lawyer for the family, issued a connection praising the charges. 

"The quality contiguous from Memphis officials that these 5 officers are being held criminally accountable for their deadly and brutal actions gives america anticipation arsenic we proceed to propulsion for justness for Tyre," they wrote. "This young antheral mislaid his beingness successful a peculiarly disgusting mode that points to the hopeless request for alteration and betterment to guarantee this unit stops occurring during low-threat procedures, similar successful this case, a postulation stop."

Nichols was returning location from a suburban park, wherever helium had taken photos of the sunset. The ineligible squad said officers bushed Nichols for 3 minutes successful a "savage" brushwood reminiscent of the infamous 1991 constabulary beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King.