DA drops 30-plus cases involving Memphis officers charged in Tyre Nichols death

Aug. 18 (UPI) -- The Shelby County Tennessee district attorney has dropped more than 30 cases worked by the five former Memphis police officers charged with second-degree murder of Tyre Nichols.

In a statement, District Attorney Steven Mulroy said his office reviewed roughly a hundred cases involving the officers.

In addition to the dropped cases, charges were reduced in about a dozen others.

Former officers Tadarrius Bean, Justin Smith, Desmond Mills, Demetrius Haley and Emmit Martin were fired and charged with second-degree murder in Nichols' killing after they beat him following a traffic stop and chase.

The officers were part of now-disbanded Scorpion police anti-street crime unit.

Mulroy said, at the time, "The actions of all of them resulted in the death of [Tyre Nichols] and they are all responsible."

The Justice Department opened an investigation into the Memphis police in July.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement the probe is "to examine serious allegations that the city of Memphis and the Memphis Police Department engage in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional conduct and discriminatory policing based on race."

The Nichols family sued the police for $500 million over Tyre's death in April, alleging the cops acted like "a pack of wolves attempting to hunt down their prey."