Autopsy concludes Tyre Nichols died from blunt force trauma

The autopsy of Tyre Nichols confirmed that he died from blunt force trauma after he was stopped and brutally beaten by several Memphis, Tenn., police officers in January, lawyers for his family said. 

Attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci said in a statement Wednesday that the results of the medical examiner’s report are “highly consistent” with their own investigation, conducted shortly after Nichols was killed. 

“We know now what we knew then. Tyre Nichols died from blunt force trauma and the manner of death was homicide. The official autopsy report further propels our commitment to seeking justice for this senseless tragedy,” they said. 

An independent autopsy that Nichols’s family had performed in January revealed the 29-year-old Black man died from “excessive bleeding caused by a severe beating.” 

Nichols was pulled over in Memphis by police officers Jan. 7 for what they initially said was reckless driving. Authorities later said they did not have evidence of Nichols driving recklessly. 

Officers wrestled Nichols to the ground after the stop, yelling multiple commands and expletives at him. He ran away, but the officers caught up with him, tasing and repeatedly punching and kicking him for three minutes, video of the beating showed. 

Nichols did not receive any medical attention while at the scene. He died at a hospital three days later. 

The five officers involved in the beating, all of whom are Black, were fired from the department and indicted on multiple charges, including second-degree murder. They have pleaded not guilty. 

A sixth officer, Preston Hemphill, who initiated the traffic stop, was also fired. But the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday that Hemphill would not face any charges related to the incident. 

DA Steve Mulroy said Hemphill did not pursue Nichols and was “not present for the later beating incident.”