OAN’s Abril Elfi
3:25 PM – Friday, August 18, 2023
A Tennessee district attorney announced the dismissal of at least 30 cases worked on by five former Memphis Police Department (MPD) officers charged in Tyre Nichols’ death.
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On Thursday, Shelby County District Attorney Steven Mulroy announced in a statement that there will be at least 30 dismissals due a total of 100 cases that were evaluated by the former officers. He also stated that charges were also lowered in roughly a dozen other cases.
“As in any such case, the primary consideration is concern about the credibility as witnesses of discharged officers,” the statement said.
All five of the former officers, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin, Justin Smith, and Desmond Mills, face various counts, including second-degree murder in Nichols’ death.
During their initial court appearance on February 17th, all five cops pleaded not guilty.
Nichols died just a few days after being pulled over for a traffic violation and ended up being beaten by the former Memphis cops on January 7th.
The extent of the beating was made public when body camera videos and surveillance footage from Nichols’ arrest were made available on January 27th. According to the county prosecutor at the time, it contradicted what the officers claimed occurred in the initial police report.
Nichols’ family has also filed a lawsuit against the city of Memphis, its police department, and the former policemen.
A date to hear motions from the officers has been set for September 15th.
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