Officer Who First Stopped Tyre Nichols Won't Be Charged

The fired Memphis police officer who first stopped Tyre Nichols for an alleged traffic violation will not be charged, according to the district attorney’s office.

Former officer Preston Hemphill, 26, whose initial traffic stop of Nichols set in motion a brutal beating from police that killed the 29-year-old Black motorist, will not face criminal charges, the Shelby County District Attorney’s office announced on Tuesday.

“In this case, Hemphill did not pursue Tyre Nichols and never left the initial scene,” District Attorney Steve Mulroy said, according to The Hill. “Additionally, he was not present for the later beating incident.”

Declining to charge Hemphill does not mean that the DA’s office condones his actions, it said, and added that Hemphill has been placed on its Giglio list. The list identifies law enforcement officers who have credibility issues.

“We understand that this individual has been fully cooperating with the investigation and has promised to provide substantial cooperation going forward,” Nichols family attorneys said, according to The Hill.

“In light of this we are supportive of no charges for this individual. 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.”

Stopped on Jan. 7 allegedly for reckless driving, Nichols was pulled out of his car by Memphis officers who used profanity, with at least one brandishing a gun.

Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis later said there was no evidence to corroborate the reckless driving claim.

According to video footage released by the city, Nichols ran away, toward his nearby home, after being hit by a stun gun. Officers from a crime-suppression team known as the Scorpion unit chased Nichols down and punched, kicked and beat him with a baton as he cried for his mother.

Afterwards, video footage showed officers standing around talking amongst themselves as Nichols struggled with his injuries on the ground. Authorities said Nichols was taken by ambulance to a hospital 27 minutes after emergency medical technicians arrived.

He died of his injuries in the hospital three days later.

Hemphill, who is white, was fired from the department in January for several violations that included the use of a Taser, police said in February.

The five officers involved in the beating — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills, Jr. and Justin Smith — were fired on Jan. 20 and have since been charged with second-degree murder, two counts of official misconduct, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, one count of official oppression and one count of aggravated assault.

All five are Black and have pleaded not guilty.