The family of Tyre Nichols has filed a "landmark" civil lawsuit against the city of Memphis, Tennessee, Police Chief Cerelyn Davis, and the individual officers involved in the brutal beating that led to his death.
In the lawsuit, which was announced on Wednesday (April 19), Nichols' family compared his death to the 1955 killing of Emmett Till, saying Memphis police officers acted as "a modern-day lynch mob" when they beat him during a traffic stop on January 7.
"Unlike Till, this lynching was carried out by those adorned in department sweatshirts and vests, and their actions were sanctioned—expressly and implicitly—by the City of Memphis," the lawsuit states, per Fox News.
The suit also states that Nichols' death was a "direct and foreseeable product of the unconstitutional policies, practices, customs, and deliberate indifference" from Memphis and its police department, TMZ reports.
Police footage shows officers repeatedly punched, kicked, and hit Nichols with a baton during a traffic stop three days before his death. Five officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith, Emmitt Martin III, and Desmond Mills Jr. — were fired and charged with second-degree murder in connection to Nichols' death. They have since pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The lawsuit names the five Memphis police officers as well as a sixth officer who was fired but not charged and three members of the Memphis Fire Department who allegedly failed to render aid to Nichols. Nichols' family is seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages.
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