Killing of Tyre Nichols

On January 7, 2023, Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black American man, was fatally injured by five Black police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, and died three days later. The officers, all members of the Memphis Police Department (MPD) SCORPION unit, pulled Nichols from his car before pepper spraying and tasering him. Nichols broke free and ran toward his mother's house, which was less than a mile (1.6 km) away. The officers caught up with Nichols near the house, where they punched, kicked and pepper sprayed him and struck him with a baton. Medics called to the scene did not administer emergency care until 16 minutes after arriving. Nichols was admitted to the hospital in critical condition.

The officers reported that they stopped Nichols for reckless driving. The MPD released four edited video clips from police body cameras and a nearby pole-mounted camera. MPD Police Chief Cerelyn J. Davis later stated that the department had reviewed camera footage and could not find any evidence of probable cause for the traffic stop.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the United States Department of Justice both opened investigations into the incident. The autopsy determined the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head, and the manner of death as homicide.

The five officers who assaulted Nichols were discharged from the MPD, effective January 8, 2023. They were arrested and charged on January 26 with second-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, official misconduct, and official oppression. A sixth officer, Preston Hemphill, who was white and present at the initial traffic stop, was also fired from the MPD in February 2023 for violating "multiple department policies" but was not criminally charged after prosecutors determined he was not present at the scene where Nichols suffered his fatal injuries. Three of the officers have pleaded not guilty to the charges. One officer, Desmond Mills Jr., pleaded guilty to federal charges of deprivation of rights and conspiracy and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors on November 2, 2023. Another officer, Emmitt Martin III, who initially pleaded not guilty, changed his plea to guilty on August 23, 2024. The MPD has disciplined, relieved of duty, dismissed, or arrested thirteen officers regarding their conduct. Memphis Fire Services terminated three employees for their failure to evaluate or assist Nichols. After the release of the videos, widespread protests began on January 27.

The five officers involved were also charged with civil rights violations by federal authorities in connection with the killing. One of them, Mills, later pleaded guilty to these charges. Mills later agreed to plead guilty to all state charges as well, including murder. A second officer, Martin, pleaded guilty in August 2024. Martin would ultimately plead guilty to all states charges brought against him as well. On October 3, 2024, Haley was convicted of all four counts he was charged with, including civil rights deprivation related charges, while Bean and Smith would each be convicted of one lesser count related to witness tampering. Bean, Haley and Smith were acquitted of all state charges on May 7, 2025.

People involved

Tyre Nichols

Tyre Deandre Nichols (June 5, 1993 – January 10, 2023) was a 29-year-old black man. Nichols worked for FedEx and was a photographer with a photography website.

Nichols was raised in Sacramento, California, and moved to Memphis in February 2020. His mother is RowVaughn Wells. According to his family's attorney, Nichols was "almost impossibly slim" due to Crohn's disease, and weighed 145 pounds (66 kilograms) at a height of 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 meters).

Police officers

The five black Memphis Police Department (MPD) officers accused of beating Nichols in connection to the traffic stop each had two to six years of police experience. Four of the five officers were raised in the Memphis area.

1. Tadarrius Bean, age 24, hired in August 2020.
2. Demetrius Haley, age 30, hired in August 2020 (a former corrections officer; first officer at initial traffic stop);
3. Emmitt Martin III, age 30, hired in March 2018 (second officer at initial traffic stop);
4. Desmond Mills Jr., age 32, hired in March 2017 (a former jailer in Mississippi and Tennessee).
5. Justin Smith, age 28, hired in March 2018.

Four out of the five officers had prior disciplinary actions by MPD for various offences. All five were members of an MPD 30-person specialized hot spot policing unit known as SCORPION (Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace In Our Neighborhoods).

DeWayne Smith

Lt. DeWayne Smith, an officer with 25 years' experience, was a supervisor in the SCORPION unit on the scene at the time of Nichols' beating. Smith retired the day before an administrative hearing in which he was expected to be dismissed. Smith was subsequently considered for decertification, which bars police officers from working again in the jurisdiction that certified them. The documents accompanying the decertification request contended that Smith had (1) failed to address Nichols' complaint that he could not breathe; (2) failed to obtain reports from the police officers as to their use of force; (3) told Nichols family that Nichols had been driving under the influence, despite a lack of information to support such a charge; and (4) failed to wear a body camera, in violation of the police department's policy.

The MPD requested that the Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST) decertify Smith. It then asked to rescind that request, at which point POST asked the department for an explanation as to its reversal. In a news release, the MPD announced it would continue with the request, saying it had merely meant to ask for a delay and clarifying information as to whether an officer who resigned prior to termination could be decertified.

Preston Hemphill

Preston Hemphill, a white officer who was hired by the MPD in 2018, was identified as a sixth officer involved in the initial traffic stop. Hemphill was among the first officers to encounter Nichols during the January 7 traffic stop. He deployed his Taser during the confrontation and in his body camera video is seen chasing Nichols down the road, but then turns back to the scene of the initial traffic stop. Hemphill was heard on his body camera video saying twice, "I hope they stomp his ass," after Nichols fled the scene.

On January 30, 2023, the Memphis Police Department announced that Hemphill had been relieved of duty pending the outcome of an administrative investigation. On February 3, 2023, Hemphill was fired from the Memphis Police Department for violations including personal conduct, truthfulness, and a violation for not using the Taser in compliance with regulations. While on top of Nichols at the initial stop, Hemphill used the statement, "Get on the fucking ground. Finna tase yo ass," according to the police decertification letter Memphis Police sent to Tennessee's Peace Officer Standards & Training Commission.

On May 2, 2023, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy announced that Hemphill would not be criminally charged in connection with Nichols' death. Mulroy stated that the decision followed a "thorough investigation," including reviewing hours of body camera footage and interviewing witnesses. He noted that "by no means do we endorse the conduct of officer Hemphill at that first traffic stop," but explained that "Hemphill did not pursue Tyre Nichols and never left the initial scene," and was not involved in the second encounter where Nichols was brutally beaten by police. Hemphill was added to the department's Giglio list, which identifies law enforcement officers who have had sustained incidents of untruthfulness or other issues placing their credibility into question.

The Nichols family, through their attorney Ben Crump, stated they supported the decision not to press charges against Hemphill. Crump said in a statement: "It is our deepest hope and expectation that justice will be served fully, and that all who had a role to play in this senseless tragedy will be held accountable." Hemphill was also named in the $550 million civil lawsuit filed on behalf of Nichols' family.

Hemphill's attorney, Lee Gerald, stated that his client was cooperating with authorities in the investigation and expected that he would testify at trial in the case.

SCORPION Unit

SCORPION was assembled by Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn J. Davis, in October 2021, to deal with serious crimes; Davis disbanded SCORPION in the wake of Nichols' death. SCORPION unit officers drove unmarked cars and many dressed in plainclothes and wore bulletproof vests marked "Police".

SCORPION has been compared to the "RED DOG" unit Davis commanded in 2006 and 2007 as a member of the Atlanta Police Department in Atlanta, Georgia. Davis described the Red Dog as utilizing "aggressive crime fighting strategies in high crime areas citywide". The Red Dog unit was disbanded in 2011 after the city agreed to settle a lawsuit regarding excessive force by Red Dog officers. NBC News reported that a former member of the Atlanta Civilian Review Board said it should have been clear to Davis that a tactical unit like Scorpion was prone to violating people's rights in Memphis just as Red Dog did in Atlanta.