MPD Chief Davis' past with Atlanta PD will remain in Tyre Nichols civil suit, judge rules
The City of Memphis and Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn "C.J." Davis' motion to strike all mentions of a specialized unit she was part of during her time with the Atlanta Police Department from the $550 million lawsuit stemming from Tyre Nichols' death was denied by a U.S. magistrate judge Thursday.
In the motion, the city and Davis argue that mentioning the RED DOG Unit was immaterial to the case because Davis' time with APD was over 14 years ago, and that the allegations involving the RED DOG Unit were intentionally inflammatory and meant to harm Davis' character.
Magistrate Judge Annie T. Christoff disagreed, saying the city "failed to provide such a strong reason as to the allegations they seek to strike from the complaint."
"Given the early posture of this litigation and the low relevance bar applicable to motions to strike, the city defendants have not met their burden of demonstrating that the RED DOG allegations in no way relate to the subject matter of the case or the issues presented, and thus the allegations should, for now, remain part of the complaint," Christoff wrote in her ruling.
Christoff wrote that the court is required to accept the allegations that the RED DOG Unit and SCORPION Unit in Memphis were similar as true.
"If the allegations regarding the similarities between the SCORPION Unit and the RED DOG Unit are true — and the court must accept them as true at this stage — then those allegations are potentially relevant to demonstrating what should and should not have been obvious and predictable to Chief Davis and the city," she wrote.
On the argument that the RED DOG Unit allegations are scandalous, Christoff ruled that they did not "impugn Davis' character" and were potentially relevant. She did, however, acknowledge that they may be inflammatory, though added that they "are potentially relevant" and should not be stricken.
"The statements at issue speak directly to Davis' involvement with the RED DOG Unit and its operations, allegations that relate to Wells' theory of the case," Christoff wrote. "As a result, they are not scandalous and will not be stricken from the complaint."
The motion to strike any mention of the RED DOG Unit, which stands for Run Every Drug Dealer Out of Georgia, came alongside the city's motion to dismiss themselves from the case.
Both motions were handed down to Christoff to be ruled upon. The motion to dismiss is still pending.
Nichols was pulled over by members of the Memphis Police Department's SCORPION Unit Jan. 7. The now-former officers then pulled him from the car and to the ground, shouting numerous conflicting commands at him.
Criminal case update: Ex-Memphis police officers to be tried together in state Tyre Nichols criminal case, judge rules
Eventually, Nichols ran from those officers, but was found by others and tackled. They proceeded to punch, kick, pepper spray and hit Nichols with a baton. He was taken to St. Francis Hospital in critical condition and died three days later.
Five of those now-former officers face both state and federal criminal charges. The state case involves second-degree murder, assault and kidnapping charges, and the federal case alleges that the five officers violated Nichols' rights to be free from excessive force and that they conspired to prevent knowledge of the beating from being known.
In the federal case, the five officers face life in prison. There is no parole in the federal system.
Those same five officers are also part of the $550 million lawsuit, which was filed by notable civil rights attorney Ben Crump, and have had their aspect of the civil case placed on hold until their criminal cases wrap up.
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: Memphis police chief's past at Atlanta PD remains in Tyre Nichols civil suit
