Memphis prosecutor sees more charges

Memphis prosecutors
could bring more criminal charges against police officers and
others involved in the events leading up to and following the
fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, the county district attorney said
in a statement on Twitter on Tuesday.
The tweet came in response to growing criticism over how the
Memphis Police Department and the office of Shelby County
District Attorney Steve Mulroy have handled the case.
On Monday, the department revealed that a sixth officer,
Preston Hemphill, was suspended from the force soon after the
Jan. 10 death of Nichols, the 29-year-old Black man, who died in
a hospital three days after being pulled over in a traffic stop
and beaten. But no charges have been filed against Hemphill, a
white officer who was not present at the site of the fatal
beating.
Last week five other officers – all of them Black – were
charged with second-degree murder and dismissed from the force.
After video footage of the deadly encounter with police was
made public on Friday, calls have grown louder for local police
officials and prosecutors to be more transparent about the
circumstances of incident, given that the initial police reports
do not match with what was seen on the videos.
The family’s attorney Ben Crump on Tuesday said that police
had not been transparent with Nichols’ mother about the
incident, which he referred to as a “police lynching.”
“She thought it was a conspiracy to cover it up from the
beginning,” Crump said on CNN.
In the statement, Mulroy said other policemen, fire
department personal and others who prepared documentation of the
incident may also face criminal charges as more information
becomes available.
“We are looking at all individuals involved in the events
leading up to, during, and after the beating of Tyre Nichols,”
the office said, adding that the investigation is incomplete.
In an apparent reference to Hemphill, the office said an
officer present during the initial encounter with Nichols may
also face charges. Hemphill was suspended with pay pending a
hearing.
Hemphill, who is white, wore the body-camera that captured
the first of four videos released by authorities of the traffic
stop and violent confrontation that followed, according to his
attorney, Lee Gerald.
In the video, it is Hemphill who appears to fire a stun gun
at Nichols after Nichols is dragged from his car, forced to the
ground and doused with pepper spray before he breaks free and
runs away. The five officers who were later dismissed chased
him.
A seventh officer who was not immediately identified was
also relieved of duty without pay, the department said on
Monday, and that officer has not been charged. His role in the
incident has not been disclosed.
Three members of the Memphis Fire Department who responded
to the altercation were dismissed on Monday after investigators
found Nichols was left handcuffed on the ground without medical
attention for nearly 15 minutes after the beating.
Police Chief Cerelyn Davis has said an unspecified number of
officers besides the five initially charged remained under
investigation for policy infractions stemming from the arrest of
Nichols.
The district attorney’s office said that it could comment on
the details of the ongoing investigation.
“Our goal remains the same: to seek justice for Tyre Nichols
and hold all who contributed to his death accountable. We ask
for the public’s patience as the investigation continues,” the
prosecutor said.
Nichols will be eulogized by Rev. Al Sharpton at a service
at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis on
Wednesday morning. Family members of Breonna Taylor and George
Floyd, who were killed by police in 2020, will attend.