The five Memphis police officers who were fired in connection with the death of Tyre Nichols after a traffic stop on Jan. 7 have each been charged with murder and are in custody Thursday, according to Shelby County, Tennessee, jail records.
Memphis police identified the officers last week as Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith. All five have been booked into jail.
There has been no official announcement of charges against the officers, but jail records for the officers show they’ve each been booked on several felonies, including second-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault.
Officers who were terminated after their involvement in a traffic stop that ended with the death of Tyre Nichols, in a combination of undated photographs in Memphis, Tenn. From left: Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills, Jr., Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean.
Memphis Police Dept. via Reuters
The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office has announced a 2 p.m. local time press conference.
“The news today from Memphis officials that these five officers are being held criminally accountable for their deadly and brutal actions gives us hope as we continue to push for justice for Tyre,” the family’s lawyers, Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, said in a statement. “This young man lost his life in a particularly disgusting manner that points to the desperate need for change and reform to ensure this violence stops occurring during low-threat procedures, like in this case, a traffic stop.
They continued, “This tragedy meets the absolute definition of a needless and unnecessary death. Tyre’s loved ones’ lives were forever changed when he was beaten to death, and we will keep saying his name until justice is served.”
Nichols, 29, was stopped by police on Jan. 7 for alleged reckless driving. Nichols allegedly ran away when approached, causing the officers to chase him and ultimately apprehend him, police said. Nichols was hospitalized in critical condition after complaining of shortness of breath during the arrest and died three days later, police allege.
Nichols’ family and Crump and Romanucci, viewed the body camera footage of the arrest on Monday, with Crump calling it “appalling,” “deplorable,” “heinous,” “violent” and “troublesome on every level.”
“What he was in that was defenseless the entire time,” Romanucci said Monday. “He was a human piñata for those police officers. It was unadulterated, unabashed, nonstop beating of this young boy for three minutes.”
A portrait of Tyre Nichols is displayed at a memorial service for him, Jan. 17, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn. Nichols was killed during a traffic stop with Memphis Police on Jan. 7.
Adrian Sainz/AP
A preliminary independent autopsy commissioned by the family showed Nichols suffered “extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating,” according to a statement from Crump and Romanucci.
City and police officials in Memphis have spent the last week working with community and civic groups, as well as police and local officials in other cities, in the hopes of keeping expected protests civil and nonviolent, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
During confidential calls over the last week, Memphis police leaders told colleagues in other cities and community leaders in Tennessee that they planned to release video recordings of the encounter as soon as they could and that the police conduct recorded was difficult to watch and would quickly be compared with the Los Angeles Police Department beating of Rodney King in 1991.
Police also anticipated criminal charges and they and community leaders hoped that such charges could demonstrate to the public that law enforcement agencies were taking the situation seriously.
The incident also continues to be investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice.
ABC News’ Armando Garcia and Whitney Lloyd contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.