The death of Tyre Nichols, and the ensuing swift reaction from the Memphis Police Department and the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office, should serve as a model for police reform across the country when it comes to use of excessive force, according to attorney Ben Crump.

“We have a precedent that has been set here in Memphis, and we intend to hold this blueprint for all America from this day forward,” Crump said at a Friday, Jan. 27, press conference at the Mt. Olive Cathedral CME Church, 538 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., in Downtown Memphis.

All 5 officers in Tyre Nichols case out on bond, court date set

Crump noted the DA’s office brought charges against all five officers involved within 20 days. 

He added that the swiftness of prosecution against the Black officers should be a practice for all accused of police brutality regardless of race. 

“We want equal justice under the law. Tyre deserves it,” Crump said.

Rodney Wells, stepfather of Tyre Nichols, thanked the community for their support and made a request to the public for peaceful protests. 

“We do not want any type of uproar or any type of disturbance,” Wells said. “We want a peaceful protest. That’s what the family wants, that’s what the community wants. Please protest safely.”

While he initially pushed for a first-degree murder charge for the officers, after speaking with the MPD, Wells said he is “very satisfied” with the current charge of second-degree murder.

“Murder one was my main goal,” Wells said. “But as the charges were told to us, and they explained to us what the difference was between murder one and murder two, we’re very satisfied with the charges.”

At a somber vigil for Tyre Nichols, anger is directed toward change

Attorney Tony Romanucci, who is working with Crump, called for an immediate termination of the entire MPD’s SCORPION unit, which the indicted officers were a part of.

“You can call this the SCORPION unit if that’s what you want to call it,” Romanucci said. “These are suppression units. These are saturation units and what they really turn out to be is oppression units.”

“Make no mistake Tyre Nichols, at all times, was an innocent victim on that night. He did nothing wrong.”

President of the Memphis branch of the NAACP Van Turner thanked the public for their support calling Thursday evening’s candlelight vigil in Nichols’ honor “beautiful.”

“All of Memphis came together; folks you wouldn’t think could come together came together in support of this family,” Turner said. “And that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to stay united, we’re going to peacefully protest, but we’re going to protest.

“We want to make sure policy is put forth and implemented correctly. And we want to make sure that Tyre Nichols did not die in vain. We’re going to keep fighting for him. We’re going to keep fighting for this family.”

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Nichols’ mother RowVaughn Wells said she felt physical pain at the same time her son was hurting, before she heard he’d been hurt.

“I was sitting somewhere and I had this pain in my stomach earlier not knowing what had happened,” Wells said. “But once I found out what happened, that was my son’s pain that I was feeling,” Wells said.

She said her son was coming home from taking pictures at Shelby Farms when he was stopped by police and eventually killed.

Although Wells has not yet seen the video of Nichols’ death, she said that she was questioned by the TBI about what she believed happened that night. “I told them and said, ‘Now, you prove me wrong.’”