Five former Memphis police officers have been arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the Jan. 10 death of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, a black man.
Now-fired Memphis Police Department officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith—who are also black—have been accused of severely beating Nichols during a Jan. 7 traffic stop.
On Thursday, the five officers were charged with second-degree murder. The officers were also charged with aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping resulting in bodily injury, aggravated kidnapping involving possession of a weapon, official misconduct through the unauthorized exercise of power, official misconduct through the failure to act upon a lawful duty, and official oppression….