Family sues Tennessee city, police for beating, death of Tyrie Nichols

WASHINGTON (AA) - The family of a man who was beaten to death by police officers after a traffic stop in the state of Tennessee earlier this year, filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the city of Memphis and its police department.

The 139-page complaint by the family of Tyre Nichols also names Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn "C.J." Davis, five officers facing criminal charges for Nichols' death, two additional officers and three Memphis Fire Department employees.

The suit describes the beating of Nichols as a “foreseeable product of the unconstitutional policies, practices, customs, and deliberate indifference of the City of Memphis and Chief Davis."

Nichols, 29, was seen in video footage of the Jan. 7 beating being viciously pummeled by the five officers, who like Nichols are Black. The video showed Nichols being kicked, punched, pepper-sprayed and hit with a police baton as he laid nearly lifeless on the ground during the brutal beating.

Nichols died three days later in a hospital.

Five former police officers, who are facing several charges including second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression, pleaded not guilty to charges related to the fatal arrest.