Pocket Realities

Every new revelation in the Tyre Nichols case is worse than the one before it:

When Memphis, Tennessee, officers stopped and mortality attacked 26-year-old Tyre Nichols on Jan. 7, 2023, it was not until weeks after Nichols’ death that seven officers were fired, and five were charged with second-degree murder, as well as a slew of other charges. Only six of the officers fired have been named. The former officers charged are Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith. All five officers charged were Black.

Shortly after video of the Nichols “arrest” became public, it became clear that the sixth officer, not charged, was white. This was due to the visual evidence of a white hand holding a Taser, and then using it on Nichols. That hand reportedly belonged to Preston Hemphill. Why Hemphill was fired but not also charged in the attack has remained a mystery.