‘Mom! Mom!’: Haunting final moments of Tyre Nichols as he was brutally beaten by 5 Memphis cops
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers' discretion advised
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE: A hapless 29-year-old Tyre Nichols was a victim of fatal police brutality after he was stopped during a traffic stop for purported reckless driving on January 7. Five Memphis police officers have been sacked and charged with Tyre Nichols' death. A gut-wrenching bodycam footage shows the five officers callously pummeling Nichols and squirting pepper spray on his face while he repeatedly screamed in pain calling out to his mom.
Throughout the attack, the Memphis officers could be heard screaming profanities at him, kicking him, and striking him with a metal baton. Even after the paramedics arrived, Nichols was left unattended for nearly half an hour without significant medical intervention. In the viral bodycam footage, Nichols could be repeatedly heard saying, "Mom! Mom!", pleading to the officers, “I'm just trying to go home." Nichols died three days later, on January 10, in a hospital from his life-threatening injuries.
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WARNING: This is the brutal bodycam footage of Tyre Nichols. It is VERY difficult to watch, especially the end when he calls out to his mother. pic.twitter.com/eTUh0GsEsG
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) January 28, 2023
The five officers identified, Tadarrius Bean, Emmit Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., Justin Smith, and Demetrius Haley, have been charged with second-degree murder in Nichols' death. According to the Memphis District Attorney, the second-degree murder charges were described as "knowing murder" and under Tennessee law, the charges can carry up to 15 to 60 years behind the bars.
(Memphis Police Department)
The heartbroken mother of Nichols, RowVaughn Wells, claimed the Memphis officers "brought shame to their families" and "brought shame to the Black community." Mourning at the loss of her son, she recalled the ill-fated night the officer arrived at her door, allegedly saying, Nichols was arrested for DUI without giving any details of the monstrous treatment towards them. She revealed that “Now that I’m actually putting things together, I believe they were trying to cover it up when they first came to my door," as reported by MEAWW earlier.
RowVaughn claimed, “I do know that he was a good person. And that all this – all the good in Tyre will come out and so that’s what keeps me going because I just feel like my son was sent here on assignment.” She added, “His assignment is – was over. It’s over. And he was sent back home. And God is not gonna let any of his children’s names go in vain. So, when this is all over, it’s gonna be some good and some positive because my son was a good and positive person.” “I’m still trying to understand all of this and trying to wrap my head around all of this. It’s still like a nightmare right now. I don’t have my baby. I’ll never have my baby again,” she said, grieving at the loss.