After the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols by five Black police officers in Memphis, Nichols’ brother said that he hopes the cops responsible for his brother’s death meet the same fate.
“You want my truth? I hope they die,” said Nichols’ brother, Jamal Dupree, in an interview with Fox 40 News.
On Thursday, Tennessee prosecutors announced the charges against the five officers: Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Demond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith. They were each charged with seven counts, including one count of second-degree murder, one count of aggravated assault, one count of official oppression, and two counts each of aggravated kidnapping and official misconduct.
After the charges against the officers were announced, Dupree didn’t seem to feel any sense of justice or relief. He said, “It really doesn’t mean nothing at this time until they’re actually found guilty for the actual charges, you know? ‘Cause there’s still a good chance that they can walk free from this.”
Although the officers charged with his brother’s murder are insisting that they are not to blame for the 29-year-old’s death, Dupree believes that they were.
“My brother’s last words were screaming for my mom, and they didn’t care,” Dupree said.
After watching the bodycam footage from the incident, Dupree described it as “horrific.”
He said, “The thing that bothers me most [is that], out of all five officers, nobody decided to say, ‘Hey, this is not cool. Let’s back up here.”
According to reports from Memphis police, Nichols was pulled over on January 7 for reckless driving on his way home from a park.
Police approached Nichols aggressively, ordering him to get on the ground and threatening him with a taser. After a significant struggle, Nichols took off on foot toward his house, causing the officers to run after him.
After capturing him, he was held down by two officers who proceeded to beat him ad try to handcuff him as he called out for his mom. He was reportedly just 100 yards away from his home.
Nichols was then beaten with a baton, followed by brutal punches from the officers. He died three days later in a hospital from his injuries.
Read a full timeline of the incident here.
