A timeline of the investigations into Tyre Nichols’ death after a traffic stop and arrest by Memphis police
Nearly three weeks after a traffic stop in Memphis, Tennessee, resulted in a violent arrest and subsequent death of a driver, police are expected to release footage of the incident to the public.
Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was hospitalized after the arrest on January 7 and died three days later from injuries sustained, according to police. Five officers from the Memphis Police Department, who are also Black, were fired and face criminal charges.
Tyre Nichols was a 'good kid' who enjoyed skateboarding, photography and sunsets, his family says
The family of Nichols and attorneys have met with police and city officials to view the traffic stop’s video recordings, which have been described as a vicious, prolonged beating 长时间的毒打 that lasted for minutes after officers chased down a fleeing Nichols.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis decried the officers’ conduct 谴责了这些警察的行为, adding additional officers continue to be investigated.
“This is not just a professional failing 这不仅仅是职业上的失误,” Davis said. “This is a failing of basic humanity toward another individual. This incident was c'c'c'c, reckless and inhumane. And in the vein of transparency, when the video is released in the coming days, you will see this for yourselves. 这是对另一个人基本人性的失败。这起事件是十恶不赦、鲁莽和不人道的。本着透明的原则，当这段视频在未来几天发布时，你们将亲眼看到。”
After charges were announced Thursday, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said of the accelerated investigation, “We have worked to get a resolution to these matters in record time because we take them extremely seriously.”
Here’s what we know about the timeline of the incident, investigations from authorities and reaction from Nichols’ family:
January 7 – A traffic stop with fatal consequences
On January 7 at approximately 8:30 p.m., officers pulled over 靠边停车 a vehicle for suspected reckless driving, according to a statement from Memphis police.
“A confrontation occurred” between officers and the vehicle’s driver – later identified as Nichols – who then fled on foot, according to Memphis police. Officers apprehended him and “another confrontation occurred,” resulting in Nichols’ arrest, police said.
An ambulance was called to the scene of the arrest after Nichols complained of shortness of breath, police said, and he was transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition.
On January 10, 3 days after the stop, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced Nichols had died due to injuries sustained in the “use-of-force incident with officers,” according to a statement.
January 15 – Police provide update on investigation
Following the traffic stop, the officers involved were relieved of duty 被解除职务– a standard departmental procedure while an investigation into their use of force began, Memphis police said. The TBI and the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office were also enlisted to investigate.
Preliminary findings indicated the serious nature of the officers’ conduct during the stop, police said.
“After reviewing various sources of information involving this incident, I have found that it is necessary to take immediate and appropriate action,” Chief Davis said in a statement released January 15. “Today, the department is serving notice to the officers involved of the impending administrative actions.”
The department needed to follow a required procedural process before disciplining or terminating government civil servant employees, the statement added. 在纪律处分或解雇政府公务员雇员前，部门须遵循规定的程序程序
In the days after Nichols’ death, his family’s attorney Ben Crump repeatedly voiced their desire for the release of body camera and surveillance footage of the traffic stop.
“This kind of in-custody death destroys community trust if agencies are not swiftly transparent,” Crump said in a statement.
January 18 – Federal investigation declared
On January 18, the Department of Justice said a civil rights investigation has been opened into the death of Nichols.
“Last week, Tyre Nichols tragically died, a few days after he was involved in an incident where Memphis Police Department officers used force during his arrest,” Kevin G. Ritz, US Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, said in a statement.
Acknowledging the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s ongoing efforts, the US Attorney’s office “in coordination with the FBI Memphis Field Office and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, has opened a civil rights investigation,” Ritz said, declining to provide further details.
January 20 – Officers named and fired
The Memphis Police Department has terminated five police officers in connection with the death of Tyre Nichols. Top: Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III. Bottom: Desmond Mills, Jr., Justin Smith
Memphis Police Dept.
After its internal investigation, Memphis police identified and fired five officers involved in the traffic stop due to their violation of multiple department policies.
Officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills, Jr., and Justin Smith were terminated for failing in their “excessive use of force 过度使用武力, duty to intervene, and duty to render aid,” the department said in a statement.
“The egregious nature of this incident is not a reflection of the good work our officers perform, with integrity every day 这起事件令人震惊的性质并不能反映我们的警官每天都在正直地工作,” Davis said.
A statement from the Memphis Police Association, the union representing the officers, declined to comment on the terminations beyond saying that the city of Memphis and Nichols’ family “deserve to know the complete account of the events leading up to his death and what may have contributed to it.”
Nichols family attorneys Crump and Antonio Romanucci called the firing of the five officers “the first step towards achieving justice for Tyre and his family.”
Two Memphis Fire Department employees who were part of Nichols’ “initial patient care” were relieved of duty “while an internal investigation is being conducted,” department Public Information Officer Qwanesha Ward told CNN’s Nadia Romero.
January 23 – Family views police video
After meeting with officials to watch the unreleased police video of the arrest, Nichols’ family and their attorneys described their horror at what they saw.
Tyre Nichols' family attorney says video shows police beating Nichols like a 'human pinata'
“He was defenseless the entire time. He was a human piñata for those police officers. It was an unadulterated, unabashed, nonstop beating of this young boy for three minutes. That is what we saw in that video 他自始至终都毫无防备。他是一个人piñata对那些警察来说。这是对这个小男孩三分钟的毫不掩饰、毫不掩饰、不间断的殴打。这就是我们在视频中看到的” Romanucci said. “Not only was it violent, it was savage 它不仅暴力，而且野蛮.”
“What I saw on the video today was horrific,” Rodney Wells, Nichols’ stepfather, said Monday. “No father, mother should have to witness what I saw today.”
Crump described the video as “appalling,” “deplorable” and “heinous.” 称该视频“令人震惊”、“可悲”和“十恶不赦”。He said RowVaughn Wells, Nichols’ mother, was unable to get through viewing the first minute of the footage after hearing Nichols ask, “What did I do?” At the end of the footage, Nichols can be heard calling for his mother three times, the attorney said.
According to preliminary results of an autopsy commissioned by attorneys for his family, Nichols suffered “extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating 严重殴打造成的大出血.” CNN has requested a copy of the autopsy, which Crump said will be available when the full report is ready.
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy told CNN on Tuesday his office was ensuring all necessary interviews with those involved had been conducted before the footage’s release.
“A lot of the people’s questions about what exactly happened will, of course, be answered once people see the video,” Mulroy said, noting he believes the city will release enough footage to show the “entirety of the incident, from the very beginning to the very end.”
Tyre Nichols' family speaks out after seeing police footage of police beating
02:33 - Source: CNN
January 26 – Officers charged
A grand jury indicted the five officers fired by Memphis police on several charges, according to the county’s district attorney.
Martin III, Smith, Bean, Haley and Mills, Jr. were each charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, two charges of aggravated kidnapping, two charges of official misconduct and one charge of official oppression 他们都被指控二级谋杀，严重伤害罪，两项严重绑架罪，两项渎职罪和一项官方压迫罪, according to both Shelby County criminal court and Shelby County jail records.
“While each of the five individuals played a different role in the incident in question, the actions of all of them resulted in the death of Tyre Nichols, and they are all responsible 虽然这五个人在该事件中各自扮演了不同的角色，但他们所有人的行为都导致了泰尔·尼科尔斯的死亡，他们都应对此负责,” Mulroy said during a news conference.
All five former officers reported to Shelby County Jail on Thursday, with four bonding out by early Friday morning, jail records showed.
