Tyre Nichols: A timeline of the investigation into his death
By Kiara Alfonseca and Nakylah Carter
January 30, 2023, 4:16 PM
The investigation into the death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee, continues.
Nichols died several days after a violent traffic stop captured in body camera footage, which shows officers striking Nichols repeatedly. Five officers have been charged so far in connection with his death.
His death has prompted protests and unrest across the country.
Here is a timeline of the events leading up to and surrounding his death:
Jan 7
Tre Nichols pulled over
Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was pulled over by police for alleged reckless driving
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According to Nichols' mother, Rowvaughn Wells, Tyre was 2 minutes away from his home when he was pulled over.
Officials said that Memphis officers approached Nichols, who ran away. Officers say they then pursued Nichols after he ran and apprehended him, police said.
Attorneys for Nichols' family said the body camera footage of the incident shows that Nichols did not originally run when being approached by officers. They say Nichols told police that "he was just trying to get home" from FedEx, where he worked, and yelled for his mother three times toward the end of the video.
Body camera footage shows the initial altercation an officer warns Nichols, "I'm going to beat your a--" and "I'm going to tase your a--," as various officers hold him on the ground and yell at him. Nichols' tone remains calm, at one point telling the cops, "You guys are really doing a lot right now." He manages to break free from the officers as they appear to try to deploy a stun gun on him and he runs away.Several officers can later be seen in body camera footage grouped with Nichols, standing over him as he's on the ground. As two officers hold him down, a third kicks him. A fourth officer comes over with a baton and the officers pick Nichols up from the ground and hold him up while officers appear to strike him in the face and torso.
As Nichols falls to his knees, several officers kneel and lean over him, while another appears to stand a few feet away watching. Additional officers run into the frame. At least one officer kicks Nichols while he is on the ground. About three minutes from the first kick, they begin to step away. They eventually drag him into the street and lean him up against a car as he appears to have his hands behind his back.
Nichols remains slumped next to the car for roughly 20 minutes, it appears, before officers' first attempt to render him aid. Several minutes later, EMTs appear to lean over Nichols before an ambulance appears.
The footage shows officers beating Nichols and using spraying pepper spray as he begins yelling for his mother, who lived nearby. He can be heard screaming "mom" at least three times. The officers yell multiple times at Nichols to "give me your hands." The officer with the baton can be heard saying, "I'ma baton the f--- out of you" then appears to strike him on the back three times. Officers pull Nichols to a stand, then appear to punch and slap him.
After the incident, Nichols "complained of having a shortness of breath" and was transported by ambulance to Memphis' St. Francis Hospital in critical condition, according to police.
Due to Nichols' condition, the Shelby County District Attorney's Office was contacted and TBI special agents were subsequently requested to conduct a use-of-force investigation, according to the TBI.
Jan 10
Tyre Nichols' death
Nichols died three days after being detained by Memphis police.
Jan
18 Federal investigations begin
Kevin G. Ritz, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced that the FBI and DOJ are investigating the incident. "State authorities have publicly announced that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating," Ritz said in a statement. "In addition, the United States 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."
Jan 20
The firing of Memphis police officers
The Memphis Police Department announced that it fired five police officers following an investigation into Nichols' death. The officers were identified as Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith. They are all Black men. "After a thorough review of the circumstances surrounding this incident, we have determined that five MPD officers violated multiple department policies, including excessive use of force, duty to intervene and duty to render aid," the department said in a statement.
