Five former police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, were charged with second-degree murder Thursday in the brutal beating of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, during a traffic stop, authorities said.
Ex-Officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith, who are Black, were charged with second-degree murder, two counts of official misconduct, one count of official oppression, aggravated assault while acting in concert and two counts of aggravated kidnapping in the death of Nichols, according to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee.
“I’m excited. It shows that justice is being served. It doesn’t matter the color of the officers. The fact is, the officers did what they did, and it was unnecessary,” Nichols’ aunt Kandi Green said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
