Ex-Memphis police officer Preston Hemphill involved in Tyre Nichols death will not face criminal charges
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE: Memphis police officer Preston Hemphill, who was involved in the brutal killing of Tyre Nichols, will not face criminal charges. According to the Shelby County district attorney Steve Mulroy the former police officer was involved in the first encounter with Nichols at the time of the traffic stop, however, the department agreed not in the second encounter at the time of assault.
He said, "By no means do we endorse the conduct of officer Hemphill at that first traffic stop. But we do not believe that criminal charges are appropriate." Mulroy shared on Tuesday, May 2, that the official team carried multiple hours of interviews with Hemphill and scrutinized hours of body camera footage before making the decision. He also shared that his office consulted with the family and attorney Ben Crump who all agreed and supported the decision to not press charges, as per NBC News.
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'It is our deepest hope and expectation'
The district attorney said that Nichols’ autopsy is in the final stages. “We expect that it will confirm that Nichols died as a result of the injuries sustained during the beating.” Mulroy read a statement on behalf of the Nichols family shared by Crump. “We understand that this individual has been fully cooperating with the investigation and has promised to provide substantial cooperation going forward. In light of this, we are supportive of no charges for this individual," he said.
It continued, "It is our deepest hope and expectation that justice will be served fully and that all who had a role to play in this senseless tragedy will be held accountable.”
'Hands of a modern-day lynch mob'
Recently, Nichols' family filed a lawsuit drawing parallels between his death and the 1955 murder of Emmett Till, claiming that Tyre, like Till, was beaten by the "hands of a modern-day lynch mob," TMZ reports. Nichols, 29, was pulled over for a traffic violation merely 60 yards from his family's home on January 10. He was later pronounced dead after allegedly being beaten, slapped, pepper-sprayed and kicked by five police officers who are all fired.
