Examining the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols

`Video: On\n\nCNN Special Report\n\nOfficers on trial:Examining the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols\n\nCNN pieced together body camera and surveillance footage from the night Tyre Nichols was fatally beaten to uncover what actually happened.\n\nBy Matthew Gannon, Demetrius Pipkin, Mark Oliver, Kenneth Uzquiano, Claudia Morales, Paul Murphy, Selwyn Rocha and Yukari Schrickel, CNN\n\nSeptember 9, 2024\n\nThe federal trial for the officers involved in the fatal arrest of Tyre Nichols begins Monday, September 9, 2024. CNN has reviewed body camera and surveillance videos, as well as disciplinary hearing documents, to identify which former Memphis police officers were seen beating, pepper spraying and attempting to use a Taser on 29-year-old Tyre Nichols during an arrest on January 7, 2023. Nichols died three days later.\n\nThe City of Memphis has released surveillance video and police body camera videos from the incident. Officers Demetrius Haley and Emmitt Martin III did not turn on their body cameras during the initial traffic stop.\n\nThese six Memphis Police Department officers were fired after an internal investigation into their actions that night.\n\nFive former officers — Haley, Martin, Bean, Smith, and Mills — were charged by the state of Tennessee with seven counts each, including second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. They were also indicted by a federal grand jury on several charges, including deprivation of rights, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice, according to the indictment. The five had all previously pleaded not guilty to all charges, but Martin and Mills changed their plea to guilty as part of a settlement.\n\nDemetrius Haley\n\nMemphis Police officer (fired)\n\nPlea: Not guilty\n\nOfficer Demetrius Haley was one of the first Memphis police officers to make physical contact with Nichols.\n\nDuring an internal review, Haley told investigators that he and his partners pulled over Nichols for reckless driving. According to disciplinary hearing documents, Haley never told Nichols why he was being pulled over or that he was under arrest. An initial police report claimed Nichols “started to fight” with officers and at one point grabbed an officer’s gun, none of which is seen in the videos.\n\nIn the video below, we can see Haley, who is wearing a black hoodie, pull Nichols out of his vehicle.\n\nHaley did not turn on his own body camera during the initial encounter, according to the disciplinary documents, although it was functioning properly.\n\n8:24 P.M.\nIn this video:\nDemetrius Haley\nPreston Hemphill\nEmmitt Martin III\nVideo transcript:\n\nVideo shown from the perspective of Officer Preston Hemphill’s body camera.\n\nHemphill draws his firearm and walks toward Nichols’ car.\n\nOfficer Demetrius Haley is seen going around his car and approaching the driver’s side of Nichols’ vehicle. At one point he puts his hand on his firearm and pulls it up slightly, but then almost immediately takes his hand off it.\n\nOfficer Emmitt Martin III is standing at the passenger side window of Nichols’ car.\n\nUnknown Officer\n\n”You’re going to get your a** blowed the f**k off!”\n\nHemphill holsters his firearm.\n\nUnknown Officer\n\n“Get the f**k out the car!”\n\nUnknown Officer\n\n“Get the f**k out the f**king car!”\n\nHaley opens the car door and begins pulling Nichols out.\n\nTyre Nichols\n\n“Damn I didn’t do anything!”\n\nHemphill moves to help Haley, who is still pulling Nichols out of the car.\n\nPreston Hemphill\n\n“Turn your a** around.”\n\nTyre Nichols\n\n“All right! All right! All right! All right!”\n\nOfficers struggle to get Nichols to the ground. Once they do, we see Haley pepper spraying Nichols at close quarters and Nichols getting up and sprinting away. Haley later pursues Nichols, but eventually stops running to seek help from another officer because he was hit by his own pepper spray.\n\n8:25 P.M.\nIn this video:\nDemetrius Haley\nPreston Hemphill\nEmmitt Martin III\nVideo transcript:\n\nVideo shown from the perspective of Officer Preston Hemphill’s body camera.\n\nMultiple officers can be seen holding Nichols to the ground as they give him varying instructions.\n\nTyre Nichols\n\n“I am on the ground!”\n\nPreston Hemphill\n\n“On your stomach!”\n\nUnknown Officer\n\n“Put your hands behind your –”\n\nTyre Nichols\n\n“I am, please!”\n\nDemetrius Haley\n\n“I’m fixing to spray him. I’m spraying him.”\n\nUnknown Officer\n\n“Spray him.”\n\nHaley sprays Nichols with pepper spray.\n\nTyre Nichols\n\n“Stop, I’m not doing …”\n\nA struggle ensues, but the camera becomes obstructed.\n\nNichols is seen on his feet stumbling as he tries to escape the officers.\n\nUnknown Officer\n\n“Tase him!”\n\nHemphill deploys his Taser.\n\nNichols runs around Martin while pulling off his shirt and then runs away.\n\nHaley pursues Nichols on foot.\n\nNote: This map shows the approximate route that Tyre Nichols took on January 7, 2023. Police radio indicates that Nichols ran southbound on Ross Road before being apprehended.\n\nAbout 10 minutes later, surveillance footage shows Haley arriving at the second scene as two officers attempt to handcuff Nichols. Haley kicks Nichols in the upper torso. He later claimed to investigators he was trying to loosen Nichols’ arm, according to disciplinary documents. However, he does not attempt to assist the officers in handcuffing Nichols and instead walks away.\n\n8:36 P.M.\nThis video clip has no audio\nIn this video:\nDemetrius Haley\nEmmitt Martin III\nVideo transcript:\n\nVideo shown from a surveillance camera looking down on a street corner.\n\nThree officers can be seen holding Nichols down on the ground, then one of them, Martin, backs away while a fourth officer watches from a few feet away.\n\nTwo other officers run into view from the right side of the frame.\n\nThe first officer who runs in — identified in disciplinary documents as Haley — can be seen kicking Nichols in his upper torso.\n\nMartin is seen kicking Nichols immediately after Haley does.\n\nSeveral minutes later, Haley appears to shine a light at Nichols and take photos with his cell phone while Nichols is leaned in a seated position against a car. According to disciplinary documents, Haley admitted to texting one image of Nichols to at least five people — including two other Memphis officers, a “female acquaintance” and a civilian employee. During an administrative investigation, police identified a sixth person as a recipient of the same photo, according to the documents.\n\n8:40 P.M.\nThis video clip has no audio\nIn this video:\nDemetrius Haley\nVideo transcript:\n\nVideo shown from a surveillance camera looking down on a street corner.\n\nMultiple officers can be seen standing around.\n\nOne officer — Haley — turns on his flashlight and points it at Nichols, who is leaned against a police car in a seated position with his hands handcuffed behind his back.\n\nNichols can be seen turning his face and looking into the light.\n\nHaley takes at least one photo on his cell phone before turning off his flashlight and walking away.\n\nEmmitt Martin III\n\nMemphis Police officer (fired)\n\nPlea: As part of a settlement deal, Martin pleaded guilty to federal charges, including deprivation of rights, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice. It is unclear whether he intends to change his plea in his state case, where he is currently facing a second-degree murder charge.\n\nOfficer Emmitt Martin III was one of the officers who initially pulled Nichols over. Martin can be heard threatening Nichols as officers approach his vehicle, and while they attempt to subdue him on the ground.\n\n8:24 P.M.\nIn this video:\nDemetrius Haley\nPreston Hemphill\nEmmitt Martin III\nVideo transcript:\n\nEdited video shown from the perspective of Officer Preston Hemphill’s body camera.\n\nOfficer Emmitt Martin can be seen at the passenger side of Nichols’ vehicle.\n\nUnknown Officer\n\n”You’re going to get your ass blowed the f**k off!”\n\nEmmitt Martin III\n\n”B*tch, put your hands behind your back before I break [them]”\n\nTyre Nichols\n\n“OK, stop!”\n\nEmmitt Martin III\n\n“Imma knock your a** the f**k out!”\n\nTyre Nichols\n\n“You guys are really doing a lot right now. Stop!”\n\nDemetrius Haley\n\n“Bro lay down.”\n\nTyre Nichols\n\n“I’m just trying to go home.”\n\nNichols ultimately takes off running from the first scene, and surveillance footage at the second scene shows what happened after he was apprehended by other officers.\n\n8:34 P.M.\nIn this video:\nEmmitt Martin III\nVideo transcript:\n\nVideo shown from a surveillance camera looking down on a street corner. CNN has synced the audio from body camera footage to the surveillance video.\n\nTwo officers can be seen holding Nichols to the ground.\n\nA third officer — identified in disciplinary documents as Officer Emmitt Martin — kicks Nichols twice while the other two officers struggle to control him.\n\nMartin steps back to watch as the other two officers continue to try to handcuff Nichols.\n\nOne minute later, immediately after being hit with a baton multiple times by another officer and then pulled to his feet, video shows Nichols struggling to remain standing. Martin can be seen punching Nichols in the face five times while his arms are being held by two officers. After Nichols is brought to the ground, Martin kicks him a third time — immediately after a kick from Haley — but neither officer attempts to help handcuff Nichols. By combining audio from another officer’s body camera with the surveillance footage we can see a more complete picture.\n\n8:35 P.M.\nIn this video:\nDemetrius Haley\nEmmitt Martin III\nDesmond Mills Jr.\nVideo transcript:\n\nThis edited video combines the audio and video from Officer Desmond Mills Jr.’s body camera with the surveillance footage to create a split screen.\n\nIn the video, we see Nichols being held with his hands behind his back. Nichols is standing.\n\nAn officer — identified in disciplinary documents as Officer Emmitt Martin — punches Nichols twice in the face as two officers hold him.\n\nUnknown Officer\n\n“Give me your f**king hands!”\n\nMartin punches Nichols in the face a third time.\n\nUnknown Officer\n\n“Give me your hands!”\n\nUnknown Officer\n\n“Give me your f**king hands!”\n\nMartin punches Nichols in the face a fourth time.\n\nUnknown Officer\n\n“Give me your hands!”\n\nMartin punches Nichols in the face a fifth time and Nichols drops to his knees.\n\nUnknown Officer\n\n“Give me your hands!”\n\nWith Nichols on the ground almost a minute later, Martin kicks him a third time — immediately after a kick from Haley.\n\nBoth Haley and Martin can later be heard on body camera footage telling other officers that Nichols tried to grab Martin’s gun and had his hand on it in the initial altercation. They also claim Nichols attempted to hit them during that encounter.\n\nBody camera footage from the initial incident does not show Nichols attempting to hit the officers at any point. Disciplinary hearing summaries for Haley and Martin noted that “video evidence did not support” their claims that Nichols went for Martin’s gun, and that those claims were “deemed untruthful.”\n\n8:42 P.M.\nIn this video:\nTadarrius Bean\nDemetrius Haley\nEmmitt Martin III\nDesmond Mills Jr.\nVideo transcript:\n\nEdited video shown from the perspective of Officer Tadarrius Bean’s body camera.\n\nDesmond Mills Jr.\n\n“I sprayed. He sprayed. Hemphill tased.”\n\n(Inaudible)\n\nEmmitt Martin III\n\n“Then he was going for my gun, too, so I’m like.”\n\nDemetrius Haley\n\n“He grabbed Martin’s gun on the scene.”\n\nEmmitt Martin III\n\n“He grabbed my gun and everything.”\n\n(Inaudible)\n\nEmmitt Martin III\n\n“We got him out the car and we was like, ‘Hey bro, you good?’”\n\nEmmitt Martin III\n\n“Motherf**ker swung. Bow! Almost hit me.”\n\nDemetrius Haley\n\n“He reached for Martin’s gun. Slammed him to the car. And we were on from there. He literally had his hand on Martin’s gun like. That motherf**ker was on there.”\n\nPreston Hemphill\n\nMemphis Police officer (fired)\n\nAccording to the Shelby County District Attorney, no criminal charges will be filed against Hemphill\n\nOfficer Preston Hemphill was only present at the initial stop. As Nichols fled from the first scene, Hemphill deployed his Taser, but it isn’t clear from the video whether it made contact with Nichols.\n\n8:25 P.M.\nIn this video:\nPreston Hemphill\nVideo transcript:\n\nVideo shown from the perspective of Officer Preston Hemphill’s body camera shows him attempting to use his Taser on Nichols.\n\nAfter Nichols fled the scene, Hemphill can be heard speaking with Haley.\n\n8:33 P.M.\nIn this video:\nDemetrius Haley\nPreston Hemphill\nVideo transcript:\n\nVideo shown from the perspective of Officer Preston Hemphill’s body camera after the initial traffic stop.\n\nPreston Hemphill\n\n“I hope they stomp his a** … I hope they stomp his a**. Smith is calling for other cars ’cause him and Martin are chasing him.“\n\nTadarrius Bean\n\nMemphis Police officer (fired)\n\nPlea: Not guilty\n\nOfficer Tadarrius Bean was only present at the second location. He is seen tackling Nichols at the start of the second confrontation.\n\n8:32 P.M.\nIn this video:\nTadarrius Bean\nJustin Smith\nVideo transcript:\n\nVideo shown from the perspective of Officer Tadarrius Bean’s body camera.\n\nBean is seen chasing Nichols on foot and tackling him to the ground.\n\nTadarrius Bean\n\n“Get the f**k on the ground!”\n\nTyre Nichols\n\n“Mom!”\n\nUnknown Officer\n\n“Give me your f**king hands, b*tch!”\n\nOther officers arrive moments later and pin Nichols to the ground.\n\nBean and Officer Justin Smith hit Nichols several times while he is on the ground. Officer Bean’s body camera is knocked to the ground during the altercation.\n\n8:33 P.M.\nIn this video:\nDesmond Mills Jr.\nTadarrius Bean\nJustin Smith\nVideo transcript:\n\nVideo shown from the perspective of Officer Desmond Mills‘ body camera.\n\nBean (left) and Smith (right) are seen holding Nichols down on the ground.\n\nDesmond Mills Jr.\n\n“Shut the f**k up!”\n\nDesmond Mills Jr.\n\n“You about to get sprayed again.”\n\nBean (left) and Smith (right) are seeing hitting Nichols’ repeatedly in the face.\n\nTyre Nichols\n\n“Mom! Mom!”\n\nMills is seen pointing pepper spray toward Nichols’ face.\n\nSeveral minutes later, after Nichols was handcuffed, officers prop him against a vehicle.\n\n8:38 P.M.\nThis video clip has no audio\nIn this video:\nTadarrius Bean\nJustin Smith\nVideo transcript:\n\nImages from a surveillance camera show Bean and Smith drag Nichols across the concrete and lean him up against a car in a seated position.\n\nJustin Smith\n\nMemphis Police officer (fired)\n\nPlea: Not guilty\n\nMoments after Nichols was brought to the ground at the second location, Officer Justin Smith and Officer Tadarrius Bean are seen punching Nichols in the face.\n\n8:33 P.M.\nIn this video:\nTadarrius Bean\nDesmond Mills Jr.\nJustin Smith\nVideo transcript:\n\nVideo shown from the perspective of Officer Desmond Mills’ body camera.\n\nBean (left) and Smith (right) are seen holding Nichols down on the ground.\n\nDesmond Mills Jr.\n\n“Shut the f**k up!”\n\nDesmond Mills Jr.\n\n“You about to get sprayed again.”\n\nBean (left) and Smith (right) are seeing hitting Nichols repeatedly in the face.\n\nTyre Nichols\n\n“Mom!”\n\n“Mom!”\n\nMills is seen pointing pepper spray toward Nichols’ face.\n\nAfter Nichols was handcuffed, Bean and Smith drag Nichols and lean him up against a car in a seated position.\n\n8:38 P.M.\nThis video clip has no audio\nIn this video:\nTadarrius Bean\nJustin Smith\nVideo transcript:\n\nFootage from a city surveillance camera shows Officer Justin Smith and Officer Tadarrius Bean drag Nichols and lean him up against a car in a seated position.\n\nImages from a surveillance camera show Bean and Smith drag Nichols across the concrete and lean him up against a car in a seated position.\n\nDesmond Mills Jr.\n\nMemphis Police officer (fired)\n\nPlea: As part of a settlement to both state and federal charges, Mills pleaded guilty to federal civil rights and conspiracy charges, which included using excessive force and failing to intervene, as well as conspiring to cover up his use of unlawful force, according to the US attorney’s office. He also agreed to plead guilty in state court at an upcoming hearing on charges related to Nichols’ death, according to the Shelby County district attorney.\n\nOfficer Desmond Mills was only present at the second scene. Video from his body camera shows that he pepper sprayed Nichols twice.\n\nOn his second attempt to spray Nichols, he also sprays himself and Martin.\n\nOnce he recovers from the pepper spray, Mills beats Nichols three times with his baton.\n\n8:33-8:35 P.M.\nIn this video:\nDesmond Mills Jr.\nJustin Smith\nTadarrius Bean\nVideo transcript:\n\nEdited video shown from the perspective of Officer Desmond Mills’ body camera. CNN edited out a portion of Mills reacting to the pepper spray.\n\nTyre Nichols\n\n“Mom!”\n\nMills is seen holding a can of pepper spray aiming it at Nichols while he screams.\n\nMills pepper sprays Nichols again, but also hits himself and Martin with it.\n\nMills walks away from Nichols.\n\nAbout a minute later, Mills walks back toward Nichols.\n\nMills expands his baton.\n\nDesmond Mills Jr.\n\n“Watch out, I’mma baton the f**k out of you. Give me your f**king hands! Watch out!”\n\nMills hits Nichols with the baton three times as other officers pull him up.\n\nAs the officers congregate several minutes later, no one offers medical assistance to Nichols, who is seen in the video first leaned against an unmarked police car and then falling over.\n\n8:40 P.M.\nIn this video:\nVideo transcript:\n\nVideo shown from the perspective of Officer Tadarrius Bean’s body camera.\n\nNichols, who is handcuffed and leaned against a patrol car, can be seen slumping to his side, and lying motionless on the ground as officers around him laugh and joke.\n\n(Inaudible)\n\nUnknown Officer\n\nAs soon as I took his ass to the ground…\n\n(Inaudible)\n\nUnknown Officer\n\nI f**ked my leg bro, I know I’m fixing to feel this sh*t.\n\nUnknown Officer\n\nBro my sh*t been hurting all day, but when I seen that boy running bro, that motherf**ker ain’t start hurting no more.\n\n(Inaudible)\n\nNo medical assistance is offered at this time. Based on disciplinary documents, it’s unclear if any officers provided aid to Nichols. One document says, “You and your partners also failed to immediately assist the emergency medical personnel with the request to unhandcuff the subject as his condition changed while left unattended on the ground.”\n\nTyre Nichols was taken to St. Francis Hospital in critical condition, where he died three days later, on January 10. The Shelby County medical examiner’s report obtained by CNN affiliate WMC found Nichols died from blunt force trauma to the head. It found tearing and rupturing in his brain, and he suffered cuts and bruising all over his body.\n\nNichols’ family has filed a $550 million civil lawsuit against the city of Memphis, its police department and officers in the specialized SCORPION unit involved in the encounter with Nichols. Memphis disbanded the SCORPION unit a day after video of Nichols’ beating was released publicly. The family’s lawsuit, which is pending, said the fatal beating was the “direct and foreseeable product of the unconstitutional policies, practices, customs, and deliberate indifference of the City of Memphis” and its police officials.\n\nThe US Department of Justice is reviewing the Memphis Police Department.\n\nCNN reached out to the lawyers of all of the former officers involved for statements:\n\n“When viewing the video of this incident it is imperative that we consider each officer individually. It is equally important to consider what each officer knew at the time that they responded to a potentially dangerous situation. Based on what Desmond Mills Jr. knew and was able to see he acted in accordance with his training by using non-lethal force.” – Blake Ballin, defense attorney for Desmond Mills Jr.\n\nLawyers for Emmitt Martin III, Preston Hemphill, Tadarrius Bean and Justin Smith declined to comment. CNN did not receive a response from Demetrius Haley’s lawyer.\n\nRelated content\n\nJanuary 2023\n\nThese are the moments that led to Tyre Nichols’ death | CNN\n\nJanuary 2023\n\nTyre Nichols was a photographer. See the world through his lens | CNN\n\nJanuary 2023\n\nTyre Nichols was a son and father who enjoyed skateboarding, photography and sunsets, his family says | CNN\n\nJanuary 2023\n\nFirst police report in Tyre Nichols case does not match video of deadly beating | CNN\n\nJanuary 2023\n\nA timeline of the investigations into Tyre Nichols’ death after a traffic stop and arrest by Memphis police | CNN\n\nJanuary 2023\n\nThese are the moments that led to Tyre Nichols’ death | CNN\n\nJanuary 2023\n\nTyre Nichols was a photographer. See the world through his lens | CNN\n\nJanuary 2023\n\nTyre Nichols was a son and father who enjoyed skateboarding, photography and sunsets, his family says | CNN\n\nJanuary 2023\n\nFirst police report in Tyre Nichols case does not match video of deadly beating | CNN\n\nJanuary 2023\n\nA timeline of the investigations into Tyre Nichols’ death after a traffic stop and arrest by Memphis police | CNN\n\nJanuary 2023\n\nThese are the moments that led to Tyre Nichols’ death | CNN\n\nJanuary 2023\n\nTyre Nichols was a photographer. See the world through his lens | CNN\n\nJanuary 2023\n\nTyre Nichols was a son and father who enjoyed skateboarding, photography and sunsets, his family says | CNN\n\nJanuary 2023\n\nFirst police report in Tyre Nichols case does not match video of deadly beating | CNN\n\nJanuary 2023\n\nA timeline of the investigations into Tyre Nichols’ death after a traffic stop and arrest by Memphis police | CNN\n\nCREDITS\n\nPRODUCERS\n\nMatthew Gannon, Demetrius Pipkin and Paul Murphy\n\nSUPERVISING PRODUCER\n\nClaudia Morales\n\nVISUAL EDITOR\n\nMark Oliver\n\nDESIGN\n\nMark Oliver, Woojin Lee\n\nDEVELOPER\n\nKenneth Uzquiano\n\nMOTION DESIGN AND MAPPING\n\nSelwyn Rocha, Yukari Schrickel and Lou Robinson\n\nFACT CHECK\n\nJo Parker, Ram Ramgopal\n\nSTANDARDS\n\nDavid Valenzuela, Mariano Castillo\n\nLEGAL\n\nKristi Ramsay, Frank Lamonte\n\nTOP VIDEO LOOP CREDIT\n\nCNN animation/illustration, video courtesy of City of Memphis\n\nSTORY VIDEO CREDIT\n\nAll video courtesy of City of Memphis\n\nOFFICER HEADSHOT PHOTOS CREDIT\n\nMemphis Police Department\n\n© 2024 Cable News Network.\n\nA Warner Bros. Discovery Company.\n\nAll Rights Reserved.\nCNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network.\nTerms of Use\nPrivacy Policy\nAdChoices`