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Who is Desmond Mills Jr? Ex Memphis cop arrested for Tyre Nichols’ death released on a $250,000 bond

Desmond Mills Jr is among the five officers who attacked Tyre Nichols, a FedEx driver, during a traffic stop and it turned into a heated altercation
UPDATED JAN 27, 2023
Desmond Mills Jr, 32,  is charged with second-degree murder of Tyre Nichols (Memphis Police Department, Facebook)
Desmond Mills Jr, 32, is charged with second-degree murder of Tyre Nichols (Memphis Police Department, Facebook)

MEMPHIS, TENNESSE: Desmond Mills Jr, an ex-Memphis officer has been released on a $250,000 bond after being arrested and jailed for the second-degree murder of Tyre Nichols. It is alleged that the victim was stopped for a traffic violation, and after a heated exchange, the former officer viciously attacked the 29-year-old victim with his fellow police officers, namely Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, and Justin Smith. The police record also shows that he was inducted into the department’s Scorpion unit, which abbreviates to Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace In Our Neighborhood (SCORPION). The team comprises 40 officers, with the objective to keep a check on street crime in a given area. The specialized unit became functional in Memphis on October 21. 

Memphis Police Chief, Cerelyn CJ Davis, told CNN that after seeing the footage received from body cam, she finds it ‘incomprehensible’ and ‘unconscionable.’ “I'm sure that individuals watching will feel what the family felt. And if you don't, then you're not a human being. I would say it is about the same if not worse than the 1991 beating of Rodney King. A group thinks mentality,' said Davis.

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Who is Desmond Mills Jr?

Desmond Mills Jr is among the five former Memphis police officers charged with the second-degree murder of Tyre Nichols. He is a former jailer in Tennessee and Mississippi and has resided in Hartford, Bloomfield, Charleston, Bangor, among other places. The ex-cop represented West Virginia State University’s football team, between 2011 and 2014. Mills Jr joined Memphis Police Department in March 2017 and was included in the department’s Scorpion unit. On January 7, Desmond Mills Jr, along with other officers, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, and Justin Smith, allegedly attacked Nichols, a FedEx driver, during a traffic stop and it turned into a heated altercation.

The 29-year-old victim was brutally beaten and died on Tuesday, January 10, due to multiple injuries incurred during the incident. Mills Jr, 32, is charged with second-degree murder, official oppression, aggravated kidnapping while possessing a weapon, aggravated assault – acting in concert, official misconduct thru unauthorized exercising of official power, two counts of aggravated kidnapping causing bodily injury, and two counts of official misconduct through failure to perform a duty imposed by law. Presently, he is out on a $250,000 bond, before being arrested by Shelby County authority on January 26.

Nichols’ stepfather, Rodney Wells, told The Associated Press that they are not going to fight second-degree murder charges, as they earlier sought first-degree murder charges. “There’s other charges, so I’m all right with that,” he said.

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