A portrait of Tyre Nichols is displayed at a memorial service for him on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023 in Memphis, Tenn. Nichols was killed during a traffic stop with Memphis Police on Jan. 7.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Five Memphis Police Department officers were fired for excessive use of force, failure to intervene and failure to render aid stemming from an arrest during a traffic stop of a man who later died in a hospital, officials said Friday.
The five officers who were fired are all Black, according to the Memphis police public information officer.
There was a confrontation when officers approached the driver and he ran before he was confronted again by the pursuing officers, who arrested him, authorities said.
Relatives have said the officers who pulled over Nichols were in an unmarked vehicle and that he experienced cardiac arrest and kidney failure from the officers beating him.
Attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, who represent Nichols’ family, issued a statement Friday saying they support the department’s decision to fire the officers.
They must also be held accountable for robbing this man of his life and his son of a father,” the statement said. »
