Legal counsel on behalf of Tyre Nichols's family filed a lawsuit against the city of Memphis, the Memphis Police Department, and the officers and people involved in a fatal traffic stop in which Nichols died from a brutal beating at the hands of officers.
The civil lawsuit was filed on Wednesday, with attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci announcing the filing in a press conference. The lawsuit is requesting $550 million in damages.
FOOTAGE OF OFFICERS BEATING TYRE NICHOLS RELEASED
"We must hold each and everybody accountable who have any hand in the torture, the savagery, the brutality ... the killing of Tyre Nichols," Crump said. Supporters held signs saying "Justice for Tyre Nichols" and called for an end to incidents similar to Nichols's death. People carried some of Nichols's photography work as well.
"Today, we are sending a message in Tyre's name and Tyre's legacy," Crump said.
The lawsuit is a "landmark" filing due to the monetary compensation requested and the large catalog of evidence listed in the lawsuit proving "deliberate indifference" by the Memphis Police Department, Romanucci said.
Nichols, 29, was on his way home when Memphis police officers conducted a traffic stop on Jan. 7, forcing him to the ground and "beating him within an inch of his life," according to the lawsuit filing. He was hospitalized and later died from his wounds on Jan. 10.
The five officers involved in the beating were Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith. All five were charged with second-degree murder, two counts of official misconduct, one count of official oppression, aggravated assault-act in concert, and two counts of aggravated kidnapping.
The five officers were part of the Memphis Police Department's SCORPION Unit, a specialized crime unit tasked with fighting violent crime in the city. The unit was created 14 months before Nichols's death and was disbanded after the charges against the officers were announced.
Other responding emergency personnel and officers were either put on administrative leave or fired. The lawsuit names all five of the officers, as well as the city of Memphis, Police Chief Cerelyn Davis, Officer Preston Hemphill, Robert Long, JaMichael Sandridge, Michelle Whitaker, and DeWayne Smith.
“Far from being the result of the actions of five rogue police officers, the events of Jan. 7, 2023, were the culmination of a department-sanctioned rampage by the unqualified, untrained, and unsupervised SCORPION Unit carrying out an unconstitutional mandate without any fear of retribution or consequence because of an acquiescence and acceptance of tolerated unconstitutional conduct that had been fostered since the SCORPION Unit’s inception," Romanucci said.
The lawsuit includes 25 counts, stating that the city of Memphis and the Memphis Police Department failed to train and supervise, as well as intervene, to prevent excessive force. The lawsuit was filed on the grounds of the city violating the Fourth Amendment and causing Nichols to experience "catastrophic personal injuries and death."
Four counts are against Davis. Each of the five officers involved in the traffic stop received two or three counts related to exercising excessive force and failure to prevent excessive force. Hemphill was given three counts as well.
Long, Sandridge, and Whitaker were each given a count of "deliberate indifference to serious medical needs," and Smith was given two counts regarding "intentional" or "negligent" infliction of emotional distress and one count of fraudulent misrepresentation.
"Chief Davis and other Memphis city officials allowed the SCORPION Unit to continue to terrorize, victimize, and violate the Fourth Amendment rights of the citizens of Memphis until it culminated in the death of Tyre Nichols one month later," the lawsuit states.
Crump and Romanucci said the "savage beating" of Nichols is a "direct and foreseeable product of the unconstitutional policies, practices, customs, and decisions of the City of Memphis and Chief Davis."
“How does this horrific and unconstitutional treatment of black men and women by law enforcement continue to happen,” Crump said. “Tyre’s condition in the hospital can be likened to that of Emmett Till, who was also beaten unrecognizable by a lynch mob."
"But Tyre’s lynch mob was dressed in department sweatshirts and vests, sanctioned by the entities that supplied them. Please, Memphis. Please, America, we must hold these people accountable and create meaningful change once and for all. We can not let another 70 years go by," Crump continued.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
RowVaughn Wells is "demanding a civil trial by jury" to acknowledge the lawsuit's claims.
"Tyre Nichols’ injuries and death were a direct, foreseeable, and proximate result of Chief Davis’ authorization to SCORPION Officers to disregard and violate the Constitutional and Fourth Amendment rights of Memphis citizens," the lawsuit states.