MEMPHIS, Tenn. − Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old motorist who died after being brutally beaten by Memphis police officers, was killed by blunt force trauma to the head, an autopsy report revealed Thursday.
Nichols’ family viewed the autopsy report Wednesday, nearly four months after Nichols’ death, and attorney Ben Crump said the manner of death was homicide. The attorneys said the report was similar to an independent autopsy conducted in January which found Nichols “suffered extensive bleeding.”
The new report was done by Dr. Laura Bagwell and Dr. Marco Ross at the West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center.
The blunt force injuries to Nichols’ head left him with hemorrhaging in his brain, caused from the brain smashing into the inside of his skull, according to the report. In addition, he had multiple bruises and cuts throughout his body.
“The decedent was a 29-year-old man who was struck multiple times during a law enforcement encounter,” the summary of the report read. ” He subsequently became unresponsive…He remained unresponsive on the ventilator. He developed acute kidney injury, disseminated intravascular coagulation and liver failure. Three days after hospital admission, brain death was pronounced and he expired.”
‘Sacrificed for the greater good’:The death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis
What happened during the traffic stop?
Nichols was first pulled over in a traffic stop, which was initially said to be for reckless driving. That claim was later walked back by Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis, who said there was no evidence to say Nichols had committed any crime.
Body camera footage showed that during the initial stop, two officers from the department’s SCORPION Unit, which stands for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods, pulled Nichols from his car and dragged him to the ground. A third SCORPION Unit officer arrived as Nichols was being pulled to the ground and held his legs down.
Eventually, after officers yelled conflicting commands at Nichols, he jumped up ran away. At that point, former-Officer Preston Hemphill fired his taser at Nichols.
Nichols ran toward his mother’s home with officers in pursuit. An officer caught up to him about 1000 yards from his mother’s home. Officers proceeded to punch, kick, pepper spray and hit Nichols with a baton. He was left bruised and bleeding when officers dragged his body across the pavement and leaned him against an unmarked police car.
Over the next 20 minutes, officers milled around the area as Nichols slouched over by the car. When emergency medical technicians arrived, they appeared to not provide much attention to Nichols. Eventually he was taken to St. Francis Hospital via ambulance in critical condition. He died three days later.
Five now-former MPD officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin, Desmond Mills and Justin Smith — face criminal charges, including second-degree murder and kidnapping. Hemphill, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy announced Tuesday morning, will not face criminal charges.
Follow Lucas Finton on Twitter @LucasFinton.
