City, Davis oppose motions to halt Nichols civil case as ex-officers face criminal charges

Lucas Finton, Memphis Commercial Appeal
·4 min read
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Attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci announce they are filing what they call a “landmark” $550 million lawsuit for the death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of the Memphis Police Department.RowVaughn Wells, mother, and Rodney Wells, stepfather, stand next to Mr. Crump.The press conference was held outside of the Shelby County Circuit Court in downtown Memphis on April 19, 2023.

The City of Memphis, Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn "C.J." Davis and other defendants in a $550 million civil case filed in the wake of Tyre Nichols' killing by several now-former police officers have joined attorneys for Nichols' mother in opposing motions filed by some of those former officers to pause the civil proceedings.

The motions requesting a stay of the civil case as some of the former officers face criminal prosecution were filed in mid-June by Demetrius Haley and Emmitt Martin III, with Tadarrius Bean signing on later. Each of the three are facing criminal charges.

A separate motion to stay the civil case was filed by former Officer Preston Hemphill and former Lt. Dewayne Smith. Neither Hemphill nor Smith have been criminally charged in Nichols' beating.

In the motions, the former officers said evidence and sworn testimony in the civil case could be prejudicial to their criminal cases, and be a violation of their fifth amendment rights. Hemphill and Smith cited charges that could follow a federal investigation.

The city, Davis, former Memphis Fire Department personnel and Nichols' family proposed a partial stay to protect those rights for the officers that have been criminally charged but asked the court to deny Hemphill and Smith's requests for a stay.

"This lawsuit presents the potential for significant and uncertain contingent exposure to the city, and that uncertainty could extend through two, and possibly three, different city administrations," said Bruce McMullen, the attorney representing the City of Memphis and Davis, in the filing. "Moreover, discovery could become difficult due to the passage of time and the fading memory of witnesses."

In lieu of the complete stay, the city, Davis and Nichols' family requested the three criminally charged officers who requested the pause be allowed to not give sworn testimony in any form, but that they have to respond to requests for documents during discovery.

The opposing filings by the city and Davis also argue there is not enough overlap between the civil and criminal cases to warrant a complete stay of the case. McMullen added that the length of a criminal trial, which has not yet been set, would needlessly extend the civil case.

"While the criminal cases against the indicted defendants have been pending since January of 2023, no trial dates have been scheduled in any of their criminal cases," McMullen wrote. "It could literally be years before the indicted defendants go to trial, especially given the recent data on the backlog and infrequency of trials in the Shelby County Criminal Court system."

Other opposing filings followed a similar trend, with former MFD Lt. Michelle Whitaker's response suggesting two protective orders be filed that would restrict access to documents and the other that would prohibit "parties from disseminating discovery documents or transcripts of depositions."

"With these limitations in place, the rights of the police officer defendants will not be compromised and they will permit the remaining parties to fully participate in discovery to keep this matter moving forward and facilitate an earlier disposition," wrote Whitaker's attorney, Jarrett M.D. Spence. "There is no sound reason to bring the totality of this case to a complete halt for an indefinite period of time when reasonable alternatives exist which, when implemented, would permit this litigation to proceed without infringing upon the police officer defendants’ fifth amendment rights."

Criminal case update: Tyre Nichols case: Judge nears date to rule on releasing trove of records, video

The civil case the team of attorneys representing RowVaughn Wells, Nichols' mother, filed against the city and individuals involved in the Nichols case was brought in late April. In total, the suit names 12 defendants and alleges "over 25 counts," according to court filings by the plaintiffs. Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, the family's attorneys, said the suit is seeking $550 million in damages when they announced it.

The only defendants who have responded to the initial complaint have been the former MFD employees — Whitaker and two emergency medical technicians Robert Long and JaMichael Sandridge. None of the former MPD officers have responded. Neither has the City of Memphis or Davis.

The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee and is slated to have a scheduling conference on Sept. 15. During a celebration of what would have been Nichols' 30th birthday on June 6, Romanucci told a reporter from The Commercial Appeal that the conference could happen earlier.

Lucas Finton is a criminal justice reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: City of Memphis opposes motions to pause Tyre Nichols civil case