Exclusive: ‘No one deserves to be beaten to death like Tyre was’—Tyre Nichols’ parents speak ahead of federal trial
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – Jury selection begins Monday morning in the federal trial for three of the former Memphis police officers accused in the beating death of Tyre Nichols in January of 2023.
The trial is expected to last at least three weeks.
Ahead of their federal trial, Tyre Nichols’ parents sat down with Action News 5 Anchor and Solutions Reporter Jerry Askin to talk about what accountability looks like and their desperate plea for a guilty verdict.
“He just kept saying, mama, I’m about to be 30, I’m about to be 30. I said yes,” said Tyre’s mother RowVaughn Wells.
That’s how Rowvaghn Wells wants to remember her son – as a young father who loved skateboarding and photography and he worked at FedEx with his stepfather, Rodney.
“He lit up the warehouse. Everyone gravitated towards Tyre,” said Rodney Wells. “He had an infectious smile. He was just very energetic.”
Tyre Nichols had a bright future that ended the night of January 7th, 2023, following a traffic stop by Memphis police.
“No one deserves to be beaten to death like Tyre was,” said RowVaughn Wells.
Five of the now former Memphis Police officers are charged with in the case murder that has drawn international attention.
The officers’ federal trial on charges of civil rights violations begins Monday.
Two officers – Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr. – have already pleaded guilty. The other three – Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith – entered not-guilty pleas.
All five men are charged with second-degree murder in state court. That trial will start after the federal trial.
“I feel sorry for them. They are young men who have thrown their whole lives away,” said RowVaughn Wells. “We’re just hoping that we get a guilty verdict because it’s time for us to heal. We need to heal as a family as a city.”
“[To] get some closure, justice for Tyre, so a guilty verdict would give us that,” said Rodney Wells.
A key piece of evidence at the trial will be hours upon hours of video captured by surveillance cameras and the officers’ own body-worn-cameras. Footage Tyre’s mom told Action News 5′s Jerry Askin she can’t bear to watch.
“I don’t want to see the video or anything, I just want to remember my son when he walked out that door, the way he walked out the door,” said RowVaughn Wells.
She remembers her last conversation with her son.
“He came in the kitchen, and he hugged me and said mama, I’ll see you later, and I said okay, Ty, but I never got a chance to see him later except in the hospital where, in my mind, he was already deceased,” she said. “We were told that Ty was just pepper sprayed and tased, but then we got to the hospital, and I saw a whole different scenario.”
Tyre’s parents hope the trial will answer so many of the questions they have about what happened that night.
“To this day, I still don’t have the reason why they pulled him over in the first place,” said RowVaughn Wells.
“They were immediately aggressive from the beginning like he had robbed a bank or something,” said Rodney Wells.
Renowned Civil Rights Attorney Benjamin Crump represents Tyre’s family.
“We want full justice; we want criminal accountability and civil accountability,” said Attorney Crump.
The family has filed a lawsuit against the city of Memphis, MPD, and the officers involved in Tyre’s death.
“I still pray, and I struggle, what were they thinking,” said Attorney Crump.
Tyre’s grieving parents are now preparing themselves to relive the worst night of their lives.
“What they did to my son was inexcusable and when I see them, I don’t wish nothing bad on anyone. I’m not like that. But those 5, they can go to hell,” said RowVaughn Wells.
Action News 5 reached out to Memphis Police for comment about the case and we were told that can’t comment on pending litgiation.
Action News 5′s Jerry Askin will be inside the courtroom providing live coverage every day of the federal trial that is expected to start with jury selection on Monday.
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