Family of Tyre Nichols files multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Memphis police

Washington, United States: Tyre Nichols’ family has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Memphis police, according to his family’s attorneys on Wednesday. Tyre Nichols was a Black man who passed away after being brutally assaulted by police in the US city.

The assault of Nichols in January, which was caught on tape, triggered rallies against police violence all around the United States. Nichols, who passed away in the hospital three days later, was allegedly beaten by five cops, all of whom were Black.

“The savage beating of Tyre Nichols was the direct and foreseeable product of the unconstitutional policies, practices, customs, and decisions” of the city of Memphis, in Tennessee, and its police chief, Cerelyn Davis, the lawyers for the family said in a statement.

The federal suit filed by lawyers for Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, seeks a jury trial and financial damages.

“It’s my turn to make sure that my son’s death does not go in vain,” Wells said at a news conference Wednesday. “This has nothing to do with the monetary value of the lawsuit, but everything to do with accountability. Those five police officers murdered my son. They beat him to death and they need to be held accountable.”

The lawsuit claims the SCORPION unit launched by Memphis Police Director Cerelyn “CJ” Davis used “extreme intimidation, humiliation, and violence” and “disproportionately focused on and targeted young Black men.” It says that the department permitted this aggressive approach and ignored complaints by others targeted before Nichols’ death.

The lawsuit is seeking $550 million in damages, an amount chosen “to send the message to other cities that have similar policies that say it’s ok to terrorize Black people in Black and brown communities,” lawyer Ben Crump said at a news conference.

The number is also a reference to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated 55 years ago this month.

Nichols was pulled over on 7 January by a Memphis special police unit during a traffic stop and was brutally beaten after he ran.

In the aftermath, the officers were fired and faced separate criminal charges.

By early March, more than a dozen city police and fire department employees were facing charges related to Nichols’ beating, broadcaster NBC reported.

Outrage around Nichols’ death swept the country, spurring a call to the family by President Joe Biden. Vice President Kamala Harris attended Nichols’ funeral.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.