A 22-year-old Memphis man has filed a lawsuit claiming that he was beaten by the same cops who beat Tyre D. Nichols. The lawsuit alleges that the beating, that left him bleeding in the head and a swollen eye, took place three days prior to the Tyre D. Nichols’ incident.
The lawsuit further alleges that the officers responsible for the beating Harris are the exact same officers who were fired for beating Nichols — Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., Justin Smith, Demetrious Haley and Tadarrius Bean. The five officers have since been fired from their jobs and are facing second-degree murder charges.
The beating took place, the lawsuit notes, when Mr. Harris was assaulted in his car by the Scorpion Unit of Memphis Police, pointing their guns at him and then proceeding to physically rough him up, screaming profanities at him, punching him in the face and slamming him onto the sidewalk.
“Not once did any member of the Scorpion Unit identify himself as a police officer. Mr. Harris – believing himself to be a victim of a car-jacking – panicked and attempted to reverse his vehicle, striking an object located behind his vehicle prior to exiting his vehicle with his hands raised,” the lawsuit continues.
The lawsuit referenes other stories of police violence in Memphis city, including the 2011 police beating of Michael McDonald and Quinton Lytle and the 2012 case of Lakendus Cole. “All of these stories share a familiar and unfortunate theme – the Memphis Police Department continually and brazenly disregarding the constitutional rights of the citizens of Memphis, Tennessee, through a slew of unlawful, heinous, and nefarious customs and practices. This case is now among these stories,” the lawsuit adds.
