DOJ investigating Memphis police after beating death of Tyre Nichols

Doug Cunningham
·2 min read
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The Department of Justice on Thursday opened an investigation into the city of Memphis and its police department to determine whether they systematically violate constitutional rights. The move comes after Tyre Nichols died after a fatal beating during a traffic stop. File Photo courtesy of City of Memphis
The Department of Justice on Thursday opened an investigation into the city of Memphis and its police department to determine whether they systematically violate constitutional rights. The move comes after Tyre Nichols died after a fatal beating during a traffic stop. File Photo courtesy of City of Memphis

July 27 (UPI) -- The Justice Department on Thursday opened an investigation into the city of Memphis and its police department after Tyre Nichols was fatally beaten during a traffic stop to determine if police are systematically violating constitutional rights.

Nichols' fatal beating in January was captured on police body-worn cameras and a nearby security camera.

Five former officers have been charged in his death. Six officers were fired and the elite SCORPION unit they belonged to was disbanded.

"The tragic death of Tyre Nichols created enormous pain in the Memphis community and across the country," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. "The Justice Department is launching this investigation to examine serious allegations that the city of Memphis and the Memphis Police Department engage in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional conduct and discriminatory policing based on race, including a dangerously aggressive approach to traffic enforcement."

DOJ's investigation will also focus on MPD's use of force and its stops, searches and arrests.

Video footage recorded on police body-worn cameras and a pole camera taken on the evening of January 7 in Memphis shows officers kicking and punching Tyre Nichols during a traffic stop. File Photo courtesy of City of Memphis
Video footage recorded on police body-worn cameras and a pole camera taken on the evening of January 7 in Memphis shows officers kicking and punching Tyre Nichols during a traffic stop. File Photo courtesy of City of Memphis

"We have reviewed information that indicates that the Memphis Police Department may be using an approach to street enforcement that can result in violations of federal law, including racially discriminatory stops of Black people for minor violations," Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division said in a statement.

Nichols' family filed a lawsuit against the city, the police department and several individual officers in April alleging negligence and excessive force in his death.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Memphis Police Department "may be using an approach to street enforcement that can result in violations of federal law, including racially discriminatory stops of Black people for minor violations." File Photo by Al Drago/UPI
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Memphis Police Department "may be using an approach to street enforcement that can result in violations of federal law, including racially discriminatory stops of Black people for minor violations." File Photo by Al Drago/UPI

The suit described the "savage" beating of Nichols, 29, as "a pack of wolves attempting to hunt down their prey."

In May, an autopsy report determined Nichols died of blunt force trauma and ruled it a homicide.

Tyre Nichols' family has filed a lawsuit against Memphis, its police department and several individual officers in his death. File Photo courtesy of Nichols family attorney Ben Crump/Instagram
Tyre Nichols' family has filed a lawsuit against Memphis, its police department and several individual officers in his death. File Photo courtesy of Nichols family attorney Ben Crump/Instagram

In addition to the Memphis investigation, Garland has asked the department's Community Oriented Policing Services office to develop a guide for police chiefs and mayors nationwide to help them assess the use of specialized units like the SCORPION unit.