An investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice launched after the incident revealed that the Memphis Police Department used excessive force and discriminated against black people. Tire Nichols violent death After a traffic stop in 2023.
The report released Wednesday marked the end of an investigation that began six months after Nichols was kicked, punched and beaten with a baton. as 5 officers Attempts were made to arrest him after he fled the traffic stop.
“Memphis police officers routinely violate the rights of the people they are sworn to serve,” the report says.
“The people of Memphis need a police department and city that protects their civil and constitutional rights, earns their trust, and keeps them safe,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clark of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in an emailed statement. Of course.”
Provided by the Associated Press, courtesy of the Nichols family.
In a letter released early Wednesday, the city said it would not agree to negotiate federal oversight of the police department until it reviews and challenges the findings of the investigation.
City officials had no immediate comment on the report, but said they planned to hold a news conference Thursday after Justice Department officials held their own news conference in Memphis Thursday morning to address the findings. .
police video Officers pepper-sprayed Nichols and hit him with a Taser before Nichols was seen fleeing the traffic stop. Five police officers chased Nichols as she called for her mother a short distance from her home, kicking her, punching her and hitting her with batons. Video showed officers walking around, talking and laughing as Nichols suffered from his injuries.
Nichols died on January 10, 2023, three days after the beating. Five officers, Tadarius Beane, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith, were fired and charged with murder in state court. indicted by a federal grand jury On civil rights and witness tampering charges.
Nichols, like the former police officer, was black. His death sparked nationwide protests, heightened calls for police reform in the United States and brought scrutiny to the police department in the predominantly black city of Memphis.
The report makes specific reference to the Nichols case, as well as the practice of police using traffic stops to respond to violent crimes. According to the report, police departments are encouraging specialized units, task forces, and patrol officers to prioritize street enforcement, a practice that officers and community members believe will lead to “saturation,” or It is described as being filled with traffic stops.
“This strategy involves frequent contact with the public, gives police officers wide discretion, and requires close supervision and clear rules to direct their activities. “is necessary,” the report states. “However, the police do not guarantee that officers will act lawfully.”
Prosecutors and judges told federal investigators that police officers did not understand the constitutional limits of their powers, the report said. According to the report, officers stopped and detained people without proper justification and conducted invasive searches of people and vehicles.
“Black Memphis residents disproportionately experience these violations,” the report states. “The Metropolitan Police Department never evaluated its own practices for evidence of discrimination. It found that officers treated black people more harshly than white people who engaged in similar conduct.”
The study found that Memphis police officers resort to force that can cause pain or injury “almost immediately in response to low-level, nonviolent crimes, even when people are not aggressive.” It turns out.
Police pepper sprayed, kicked and fired a Taser at an unarmed mentally ill man as he tried to buy a $2 soda at a gas station, the report said. By the time the encounter ended outside the gas station, at least nine police cars and 12 officers had responded to the incident, and the man served two days in prison for theft and disorderly conduct.
In a letter to the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division released early Wednesday, Memphis City Attorney Tanella George Gibson said the city of Memphis would receive a request from the Department of Justice to “negotiate a consent decree covering organized police and police departments. “We have received a request to conclude an agreement requiring this.” emergency services. ”
Consent decrees are agreements requiring reforms that are overseen by an independent watchdog and approved by a federal judge. Federal oversight could last for years, and the city could pay fines for violations.
It remains to be seen what will happen to attempts to reach such an agreement between cities and the Justice Department once President-elect Donald Trump returns to office and installs new Justice Department leadership. The Justice Department under the first Trump administration curtailed its use of consent decrees, and the next Republican president is expected to fundamentally reshape the department’s priorities, again centering civil rights.
“Until the City has an opportunity to review, analyze, and challenge the specific allegations supporting the upcoming findings report, the City will continue to work toward entering into consent ordinances that will likely go into effect.” “We cannot and will not agree to enter into a deal that would cost Memphis residents hundreds of millions of dollars for years to come,” the letter said.
The officers involved in Nichols’ case were part of a crime-fighting team called the Scorpion Unit, which was disbanded after Nichols’ death. The team targeted drugs, illegal guns, violent criminals, and sometimes used force against unarmed people, with the goal of increasing arrests.
The Memphis Police Department never adopted policies or procedures to direct the unit, despite warnings that oversight of the unit was minimal, according to a Department of Justice report. Some prosecutors told department investigators there were “outrageous” discrepancies between body camera footage and arrest reports and that they would be “laughed out of court” if the case went to trial. He said he was deaf. The report found dozens of criminal cases were dismissed due to misconduct by the unit.
In court proceedings surrounding Nichols’ death, Martin and Mills pleaded guilty to federal charges under a deal with prosecutors. Three other officers were found guilty in early October of witness tampering charges in connection with covering up the assault. Bean and Smith were acquitted of civil rights charges for excessive use of force and indifference to Nichols’ serious injuries.
Haley was acquitted of violating Nichols’ civil rights resulting in death, but was found guilty of two lesser charges of violating Nichols’ civil rights resulting in bodily injury. The five men are expected to be sentenced by a federal judge in the coming months.
Mr. Martin and Mr. Mills are also expected to change their not guilty pleas in state court, according to attorneys involved in the case. Mr. Bean, Mr. Haley and Mr. Smith also pleaded not guilty to state charges of second-degree murder. A trial in the state case is scheduled for April 28.
Justice Department investigators have targeted other cities in similar investigations in recent years, including Minneapolis after the killing of George Floyd and Louisville, Kentucky, in the wake of the police shooting of Breonna Taylor. Ta.
The city of Memphis said in a letter that the Justice Department’s investigation “took only 17 months to complete, compared to the average two to three years that most other cases take, suggesting a rush to judgment.” ”
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