What role do special units like Scorpion have in Memphis?
2:14
Editor's Note:
This note contains explicit descriptions of violence that may be disturbing.
(CNN) --
The first police report filed in the hours after the Tire Nichols traffic stop suggested the 29-year-old black man was violent and contained claims that contradict videos released publicly by police days later. .
Nichols was subdued to the ground and still continuously beaten after a traffic stop by Memphis Police officers on January 7.
Nichols died three days later.
The initial police report said that Nichols "began to fight" with the officers and at one point grabbed one of their pistols.
But neither claim was corroborated by videos of the incident released last week.
And even though the recordings don't appear to show Nichols defending himself, the report identified Nichols as a suspect in aggravated assault.
The police report does not name the officers who punched and kicked Nichols.
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Tire Nichols' brother describes an "endless nightmare" as a prosecutor promises that all those involved in the fatal encounter will be investigated
One of the officers present at the scene, who has since been charged with manslaughter, was described in the report as a "victim."
The report also noted that Nichols had been pulled over for speeding reckless driving, another claim that is not substantiated by video of the incident.
Although authorities have not released the police report, a controversial Memphis radio host posted a photo of it.
The police report was first published by The New York Times.
Shelby County District Attorney's spokeswoman Erica Williams told CNN that "the prosecutor has a report that has that same account of events."
According to the report, Nichols was irate and sweating profusely when he got out of his vehicle and refused to be legally detained by law enforcement.
The use of pepper spray and a Taser stun gun had no effect on Nichols, according to the report.
The report also listed E. Martin as a "victim."
One of the five officers charged with manslaughter in Nichols' death is Emmitt Martin III.
It is unclear who wrote the police report, which references both the Memphis Police Department and the Shelby County Sheriff's Office.
Memphis Police have not returned calls from CNN.
The Shelby County Sheriff's Office declined to comment on the statements in the police report or the sheriff's department's role in it.
"Release of reports in connection with the investigation is unauthorized and the Sheriff's Office cannot comment," spokesman John Morris told CNN.
Although the report does not reflect what is seen on police body camera footage and Skycop surveillance camera footage of the encounter, it does appear to reflect what officers were discussing after Nichols was subdued and handcuffed. by the police the night of the incident.
CNN previously reported that the police's initial public statement was also contradicted by the videos.
Capturing moments with his camera and skating, which Tire Nichols loved 1:35
"They beat him like it was nothing," says his brother
For the first time since Nichols was fatally beaten, his brother Jamal Dupree is speaking out publicly about the horror and anguish his family experiences every day.
"It's like a never-ending nightmare," Dupree told "CNN This Morning" on Tuesday.
Dupree has not seen the video in which his 29-year-old brother is beaten with a baton and kicked in the head.
She said that she doesn't need to see him.
"As soon as I saw the photos of him at the hospital, I knew that my brother was treated like an animal," Dupree said.
"They hit him like it was nothing. I don't have to watch the video to know that."
Following public outrage sparked by the gruesome video, authorities have announced further firings or disciplinary action against public officials at the scene.
In addition to the firings of five black Memphis police officers, all accused of murder, authorities announced the firing of three members of the Memphis fire department.
Two sheriff's deputies were placed on administrative leave.
And the police department acknowledged Monday that two other officers are on leave.
Shelby County District Attorney Steven Mulroy said Monday that "we are investigating everyone who had any involvement in this incident," from the officers and paramedics on the scene to those who filled out the paperwork. .
Prosecutors moved "extraordinarily quickly" with charges against the five officers "primarily responsible for the death of Tire Nichols," the prosecutor said.
"As for everyone else, it's going to take some time while we do that investigation. But I assure you that the investigation is ongoing."
The release of the grisly images of the attack on Nichols once again horrified a nation grappling with a constant stream of videos of police violence, especially against people of color.
The deadly encounter began when Nichols was pulled over by police for what they initially said was suspected reckless driving and takes place in two locations.
Tire Nichols died after being stopped by police in Memphis.
He had "extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating," according to preliminary autopsy
Video released Friday shows Nichols running away after officers pulled him out of the car and used pepper spray and a taser to try to knock him down;
and then the officers catching up with him in a second location, where they repeatedly kick and punch him.
After immobilizing his hands and leaving him lying on the ground, it takes approximately 23 minutes until a stretcher arrives at the scene.
Nichols died at a hospital from injuries sustained three days later, according to authorities.
Nichols' brother feels guilty for not being able to save him
Dupree said that he felt it was his duty to protect his little brother.
Now, he says that he is wracked with guilt because he couldn't save him.
"My brother was trying to cooperate with them," Dupree said.
"If I had been there, they would have had to kill me too. Because I would have fought them."
He said he wants everyone to remember how much joy Nichols brought to the world.
"My brother's legacy is everywhere right now. Everyone knows my brother was an innocent person...He cared about people. He put people before himself. He was very selfless. Overall, He was a great person," Dupree said.
"It should never happen to anyone, but at the same time, when you see a person like that and meet them, it takes a toll on you.
The world will miss someone like that."
Accusations, dismissals and casualties to date
From top left: Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills, Demetrius Haley.
From bottom left: Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean.
Credit: Shelby County Criminal Justice System
Five Memphis police officers were fired on January 20 and charged last week.
They face seven charges, including: manslaughter;
aggravated assault;
aggravated unlawful imprisonment with bodily harm;
aggravated unlawful imprisonment in possession of a deadly weapon;
misconduct by an official;
and repression of an official.
The five officers, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith, Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills Jr. are scheduled to appear before a judge on February 17.
Martin's lawyer, William Massey, said that "no one who was there that night had any intention for Tire Nichols to die."
Mills' attorney, Blake Ballin, said Mills arrived later than other officers and his vision was affected by the pepper spray used during the traffic stop.
"Some of the questions that remain will require focusing on Desmond Mills' individual actions" and "whether Desmond's actions crossed lines that other officers crossed during this incident," Ballin said.
Lawyers for the other former officers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
"I hope he gets his ass kicked"
On Monday, police said a sixth and a seventh officer were placed on leave with the other five on January 8, and those two officers remain the subject of an internal investigation.
Police identified one of the two officers as Preston Hemphill, who is white.
Police spokeswoman Kimberly Elder declined to say whether Hemphill is on paid leave.
The city released body camera and surveillance footage of the first traffic stop, as well as the beating at the second location.
One of the body cam videos reveals that Hemphill, at the site of the first traffic stop, fired a taser at Nichols, ending up saying after he fled: "One of the prongs hit the c****." n".
Hemphill twice told an officer with him: "I hope he gets his ass kicked."
That body cam video does not show Hemphill at the second location, where the county district attorney said Nichols was struck and sustained his serious injuries.
Preston Hemphill poses for a photo after completing "Crisis Intervention Team Training" in July 2022. Credit: Memphis Police Department
Hemphill's attorney, Lee Gerald, said his client, who has not been charged, "was never present at the second scene."
The seventh officer has not been publicly identified.
The timeline of the arrest and fatal beating of Tire Nichols
"The actions and inactions of Police Officer Preston Hemphill and other officers have been and continue to be the subject of this investigation," Memphis Police said Monday.
"There are numerous charges still under development that are imminent."
The Memphis Fire Department announced the termination of three employees for their response to the incident.
EMT-Basic Robert Long, left, EMT-Advanced JaMichael Sandridge, and Lt. Michelle Whitaker have been fired from the Memphis Fire Department, the department said Monday.
Credit: Memphis Fire Department
EMTs Robert Long and JaMichael Sandridge and Lt. Michelle Whitaker have been fired, the Fire Department said Monday.
The three were responding to a report of "a person being pepper sprayed" when they arrived at the scene of the fatal beating and found Nichols on the ground, the department said.
The department's investigation determined that "the two paramedics responded based on the initial nature of the call and information communicated to them at the scene and failed to conduct an adequate assessment of patient Nichols," the fire marshal said.
Whitaker had remained in the fire truck, the department said.
Surveillance video released Friday showed that after paramedics arrived and before the ambulance arrived, first responders repeatedly backed away from Nichols, who was intermittently slumping on his side.
In addition, two Shelby County Sheriff's Office deputies were placed on leave last week pending an investigation, after video of the incident was released.
"I have concerns about two deputies who appeared on the scene following a physical confrontation between police and Tire Nichols," Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. said Friday.
A serious system collapse
After the fire brigade layoffs were announced Monday, a lawyer for Tire Nichols' family, Antonio Romanucci said, "Everyone at that scene was complicit in the death of this man, one way, shape or another. , somebody missed Tire Nichols."
"They failed him by using excessive force; they failed him by severely hitting him; they failed him by not intervening; they failed him by not helping him," the lawyer said Monday.
He said the Nichols family is still trying to come to terms with the breadth of this multi-agency investigation as they grapple with the loss of their loved one.
"This is such a serious breakdown of the system that we're supposed to trust that it's really unspeakable," Romanucci said.
A member of the Memphis city council said that there is still much to be done.
"We have to make sure that we look at our police department and see where we've gone wrong, what's happened to our procedures, what's happened to our oversight," Councilman Jeff Warren said.
"I don't think we've seen the end. And I think we're going to find out there's more as we go through the trial," he said.
"I don't think we've reached the end of this yet."
-- Mark Morales and Jamiel Lynch contributed reporting.
Tyre Nichols