The Justice Department said Thursday it has opened a civil rights investigation into the city of Memphis and its police department, which came under fire following the death of Tyre Nichols after a traffic stop in January.
The federal investigation will seek to determine whether there are systemic violations of the Constitution or federal law by the police department. It will focus on the department’s use of force and stops, searches and arrests, and whether it engages in discriminatory policing, according to the Justice Department.
The new probe is separate from a federal criminal civil rights investigation of the Memphis officers in that case, the Justice Department said Thursday.
“The tragic death of Tyre Nichols created enormous pain in the Memphis community and across the country,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
Five officers charged in connection with the death were part of the department’s specialized SCORPION unit, which was launched in 2021 to take on a rise in violent crime in Memphis. Police permanently deactivated the unit shortly after Nichols’ death.
The civil investigation is separate from technical assistance being provided to the department by the Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services – known as the COPS Office – on use of force and de-escalation practices, and the use of specialized units, according to the Justice Department.
Nichols’ death has prompted the COPS Office “to develop a guide for police chiefs and mayors across the country to help them assess the appropriateness of the use of specialized units, like the former SCORPION unit in Memphis, as well as how to ensure necessary management, oversight, and accountability of such units,” according to the statement.
Body camera videos and surveillance footage from Nichols’ arrest were released January 27, weeks after his death, publicly revealing the severity of the beating. The footage sparked widespread condemnation from residents and police officials and, as a county prosecutor noted at the time, contradicted what officers said happened in the initial police report.
The death reignited a national debate on justice in policing and reform, rocking a nation long accustomed to videos of police brutality, especially against people of color. It also spurred protests and vigils in Memphis and other major US cities.
“I know this community is still hurting after the tragic death of Tyre Nichols,” Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a statement Thursday. “At the Justice Department, we are committed to using all our tools to help ensure that Memphis residents have a safe community and can trust in the actions of law enforcement.”
If the Justice Department finds that Memphis and its police force “engaged in a prohibited pattern or practice,” the DOJ will file a lawsuit seeking court-ordered changes to remedy the violations, according to the statement.
Nichols was repeatedly punched and kicked by five Memphis Police Department officers on January 7 following a traffic stop and brief foot chase. He required hospitalization after the encounter and died three days later.
Five former Memphis police officers, who are Black, pleaded not guilty at their arraignment in February after being indicted on seven counts each, including second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping and official misconduct.
Another former Memphis officer, who is White, was fired and charged departmentally – not criminally – over policy violations.
In April, the Nichols family filed a federal $550 million lawsuit against the city of Memphis, its police department and what the suit said were “unqualified, untrained, and unsupervised” officers assigned to the SCORPION unit involved in the encounter with Nichols.
The civil rights investigation is the ninth pattern or practice probe of law enforcement misconduct launched during the Biden administration, according to the Justice Department.