desmond mills jr.one of those four officers posting his $250,000 bond last night and he is back home now with his family. so speaking of that officer, i'm joined now by the attorney for desmond mills jr., blake ballen. blake, thank you so much for joining us. i really appreciate it. the police chief in an interview just a short while ago said that there is no evidence to substantiate the claim of reckless driving. they haven't found any evidence in video or otherwise. >> right. >> what's your reaction to that? >> that proof is in the pugd. . i need to see it. i haven't seen the video we're all waiting to see. i haven't seen anything about the stop from a defense standpoint. this is the beginning stages of things and we are looking forward to seeing what what evi they have. >> the officers had a duty of care, it was said by the police chief that they did not follow the memphis police department's guidelines for duty of care, this he did not render care, obviously there is also the kidnapping charge as w

i've spent time with desmond mills and learned a lot about his background. >> what i learned so far ise is known not only here locally, but back where he's from in connecticut as just a gentle, respectful father, family man. i spoke with some of his family members today. his father talked about his own admiration for his son, as somebody who dedicated his life to being a law enforcement officer. not only is mr. mills devastated to find himself charged with a crime, but somebody on the other side of law enforcement, somebody who has been in charge of keeping our community safe, to be accused of something like this hurts him on another level. >> reporter: do either of you have experience in law enforcement departments? >> desmond mills does, he's been a jailer in mississippi and tennessee. >> reporter: i understand attorney/client privilege, but can you talk about their disposition today? >> why don't you answer first. >> well, any time a police officer is going to jail, it's a traumatic moment. so he was experiencing that this morning. i surrendered him to the tbi this morning and he ha

. >> reporter: tonight, the attorney for one of the fired officers, desmond mills, saying the video will likely be terrible, but that not all the officers played an equal role here, defending his client. you say they weren't equal partners that night. what do you mean by that? >> everybody played their own role, and i suspect that you're going to see that some officers crossed the line, but it wasn't desmond mills jr who crossed the line. >> reporter: tyre's stepfather, rodney wells, saying the family is satisfied with the charges, including second-degree murder, once the charges were explained to the family. tonight both parents are asking for prayers for their son and family and for any protests to be peaceful. >> we want peace. we do not want any type of uproar. we do not want any type of disturbance. we want peaceful protest. that's what the family wants. that's what the community wants. >> the country seeing this video. there are images coming in of protests in memphis. >> reporter: absolutely. we are seeing protests here in memphis. people in the streets, on highways, chanting, no

>> reporter: yeah, so now we have a third officer, desmond mills, also charged with murder. second degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, two counts, official misconduct. official misconduct and official -- we're seeing three of the five officers who have been charged now being docketed on the court record being charged with murder, second degree murder and also the aggravated assault and the kidnapping charges so again we're seeing some very significant charges here, now at least for three of the five officers now we're waiting to get word, abby, on the other two officers, this is certainly developing into a very significant, significant day here in memphis from law enforcement all across the country that has been waiting for this, waiting for the decision from the district attorney as we wait for tomorrow for this video to come in. but i don't think we can understate how significant these charges are against these officers and just how seriously this district attorney has been taking this case and what this really means for law enforcement all across the

justin smith, but emmitt martin the third, desmond mills junior, justin smith, demetrius haley, and tadarrius bean. all five now ex cops charged today with killing tyre nichols, who died three days after a traffic stop in a violent arrest on the seventh of this month. all five, facing identical counts. official oppression, failure to perform a duty opposed by law, unauthorized exercise of official power, aggravated kidnapping while possessing a weapon, aggravated kidnapping causing bodily injury, aggravated assault, and second degree murder. today, in addition to the charges, we've learned more about what kind of officers they were, along with some details from the timeline of tyre nichols's deadly encounter with them. which tennessee's top state law enforcement official says are appalling to him. sadly, there will be more tomorrow when video described an excruciating terms by those who have seen it is made public. cnn's sara sidner is in memphis tonight with all the latest on all that, but also a closer look at who tyree nichols was and the life he lived. sorry, first, you know, what's the r

says we urge caution in judging desmond mills' action.e're confident that the question whether desmond crossed the lines that others crossed and whether he committed the charges, the resounding answer will be no. and molly, there were several other officers on the scene we've heard from officials here in memphis and shelby county d.a. who says that a lot of those officers on scene are also being investigated for their conduct, so we could possibly see more charges filed as this case continues to be investigated, guys. griff: and very difficult video to watch. charles watson live for us in memphis. >> excellent points by charles in looking ahead at this as it continues to unfold. the release of that footage sparking protests in cities across the nation, including in memphis where several dozen demonstrators marched along interstate 55 temporarily, temporarily shutting down traffic before the crowd continued onward. alexandria hoff joins us with more with a look at the demonstrations. >> the emotional displays we saw were indeed largely pea

as tonight attorneys for two of the former officers, desmond mills and desmond mills junior and emmett martin the third, say their clients plan to plead not guilty. we are also getting word of this afternoon that the so-called scorpion special police unit they were part of has been disbanded. also tonight, the white house is balancing the message of sympathy for the nichols's family and community with calls for calm on the streets of memphis where demonstrators are still reacting to the police body cam footage released by the city late last night. footage that i will continue to caution our viewers is disturbing, showing at least some of the events, the traffic stop, the foot pursuit, and the violent arrest that sent nichols to the hospital where he died three days later. i have the solemn on our, as head of national action network, of eulogizing nichols next week in memphis. and that is where we begin tonight. joining me now, is rowvaughn wells, tyre's mother. rodney, wells his stepfather. and representing the family, civil rights attorney and the attorney general of black america, th

they are tadarius bean, demetrius haley, desmond mills, jr, and justin smith.rand jury returns indictments against all five with the same charges. we had previously met with the family of tyre nichols to go over what the charges were going to be, beginning -- that meeting with the family went rather well. here are the charges. second-degree murder, aggvated assault, aggravated kidnapping resulting in bodily injury, aggravated kidnapping involving possession of a weapon, official misconduct through unauthorized exercise of power, failure to act when there is a duty imposed by law, and official oppression. while each of the five individuals played a different role in the incident in question, the actions of all of them resulted in the death o tyre nichols, and they are all responsible. it is important to note this is still an ongoing investigation and there are limits on what we can say about the case. we ask for everyone's continued patience as we continue to vigorously seek justice in this case. we also know the public is very concerned about whether they can s

emmitt martin iii, desmond mills, demetrius haley, and tadarrius bean. joey, the charges, second degree murder, aggravated assault, two charges of aggravated kidnapping, two charges of official misconduct. one charge of official oppression, and that is now official. it was earlier according to the shelby county criminal court records. now it's official according to the shelby county district attorney. these are serious charges. what do they carry and what are they fay facing? >> a few things that are significant. the first is they charged this after evaluating the video, and making a determination that all of them should be charged with the same thing. why is that relevant? it's relevant because defense attorneys commonly argue that mere presence is not enough, and that's the law. in the event that you're simply there, but not engaging in anything to further the course of conduct, it doesn't constitute a crime. why is that significant? it's significant because it then would demonstrate that upon an evaluation of that video tape that all of those parties

. >> reporter: attorneys for two of the former officers, desmond mills jr.emmett marden, saying their clients intend to plead not guilty. >> no one out there that night intended for tyre nichols to die. >> our thanks to elwyn. >>> we turn to cryptocurrency. just a year ago, several a-listers were lining up to urge investors to jump in. a lot has changed since then and for many the risk has far outwade the reward. here's abc's rebecca jarvis. >> reporter: 2022 was quite the year for crypto. >> cryptocurrencies went on a wild ride today -- >> promising huge returns fast if you invest in cryptocurrency -- >> reporter: it started with super bowl ads. >> a trade, are you sure? >> not a trade, trade. a trade in crypto. >> reporter: crypto logos plastered on multiple arenas. the rich and famous entering the conversation. >> fortune favors the brave. >> reporter: it's seemed like everywhere you turned, someone or something was trying to get you to buy cryptocurrency. >> the safe and easy way to get into crypto. >> yeah, i don't think so. and i'm never wrong about th

how come his name was not put out there. >> reporter: attorneys for two of the former officers, desmond millsorney releasing a statement saying, we are confident that the questions of whether desmond crossed the lines that others crossed and whether he committed the crimes charged will be answered with a resounding no. meanwhile, nichols' family asking that this is how he's remembered. doing what he loved with the sun shining around him, and this photo distributed by his family showing him as a loving father, capturing the man described as kind and gentle. it's still unclear why nichols was pulled over in the first place. police initially said it was for reckless driving, but the police chief tells abc news they haven't been able to verify any of that in any of the videos. now the district attorney says more charges could come against other officers. guys? >> okay, stephanie, thanks very much. rebecca? >>> all right, we turn now to remembering actress lisa loring, the original wednesday addams. she was 6 years old in that role, and chris connelly is now back with more on her life and career.

attorneys for two of the former officers officers, desmond mills jr. and emmitt martin, saying their clients intend to plead not guilty. >> no one out there that night intended for tyre nichols to die. >> elwyn lopez with us live in memphis tonight. we know that president biden and officials in memphis all urging calm before the release of this, what's expected to be very disturbing video? >> reporter: that's right, david. the president is joining tyre's family in callin for peaceful protests, stating that violence is never acceptable. the d.a. here says there's about an hour of body camera surveillance footage that will be released tomorrow night, and david, police from memphis to d.c. all bracing for protests. david? >> all right, let's hope for calm for sure. elwyn lopez leading us off, thank you. >>> now tonight, the case making national headlines, the first witnesses taking the stand in the trial of alec murdaugh, the once prom innocent south carolina attorney, accused of murdering his own wife and son. the officer on what he saw when he got there

no clue tonight, th attorney for one of the fired officers, desmond mills, saying the video will likely be terrible, but that not all of the officers played an equal role here. defending his client. you said that they weren't equal partners at night. what do you mean by that? everybody played their own role, and i suspect that you're going to see that some officers crossed the line. but it wasn't junior. the line is a stepfather, rodney wells said the family is satisfied with the charges that include second degree murder once those charges were explained to the family tonight, both parents are asking for prayers for their son and their family and for any protests to be peaceful. we want peace. we do not want any type of uproar. we do not want any type of disturbance. we want peaceful protests. that's what the family wants. that's what the community wants. that was their plea as we were on the air with live coverage earlier today, and stephanie ramos is with us from memphis. she's outside the courthouse tonight. and stephanie i know that family, the community the country now preparing fo

he represents former officer desmond mills jr., and he says that the level of culpability for the officers is different. he also says that his client is devastated by what happened. linsey. >> stephanie, thank you. >> now to those growing calls for police reform with the lawyer for tyre nichols' family claims bias in policing, not the race of the officers, is what needs to be addressed. here's elwyn lopez reporting from memphis. >> reporter: tonight, growing calls for police reform following the brutal beating of tyre nichols at the hands of five officers. >> it doesn't matter if the officers are black, hispanic, or white, it's part of the culture. the implicit biased police culture that exists in america. >> reporter: hundreds of protesters across the country demanding changes in policing, that many believe is biased in nature. >> they have implicit bias because we all have implicit bias. >> reporter: experts say the training standards for the more than 18,000 police agencies in the u.s. are inconsistent and often outdated, highlighting the need for better tools and policies. former fbi a

morning we were scheduled to sit down and talk with the lawyer representing the memphis officer desmond mills jr. and the lawyer said "mr. mills and i will review the videos together at the appropriate time and thorough investigation of all available angles is needed before providing context or comment. my heart goes out to the nichols family and the entire city of memphis and hope all will express themselves peacefully". follow the release of the videos the shelby county sheriff's office said it is investigating the conduct of two sheriff deputies that arrived on scene after that violent beating of nichols and we're told those deputies have been relieved of duty pending the results of independent investigation, guys. rachel: charles, thank you so much. pete: thank you very much. rachel: we had chief james craig on earlier and it was really insightful and interesting conversation, and he said when we asked him what his thoughtses were and what comes to mind, he said i want to know more about this unit and why the officers, you know, had such little experience, two to three years experience on

justin smith, desmond mills jr. emmett martin, the third, demetrius, haley and darius being.rom mills and for martin have said they will plead not guilty. the white house as president. biden has not yet seen the video, but he did speak to the family. he offered his condolences, commending their quote, courage and strength. i want to bring in stephanie ramos. she's live in memphis tonight, stephanie they had been urging calm. we're getting reports of some protests already, which, of course was expected. absolutely david. the people here in memphis are set. they're upset over this video. this 29 year old man, unarmed, stopped by police. and then as we can see, in that video being on the ground until he's unconscious, as you said, dying three days later, and we heard from tyree nichols family earlier today, his mother, understandably emotional, wiping away tears and urging for peace, saying that if there are protests here in memphis or across the country, she asked she was is asking for them to be peaceful again. we are seeing them here tonight, so far, not violent. but as you m

. >> reporter: tadarrius bean, demetrius haley, desmond mills jr., justin smith, and emmitt martin iii all facing felony criminal charges including second-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping and assault. >> they're facing a second-degree murder charge instead of a first degree, because first-degree murder priors premeditation. we all know that a traffic stop should not result in a death. >> reporter: the nichols family attorney telling abc news, five officers being held criminally accountable for their deadly and brutal actions gives us hope as we continue to push for justice for tyre. the now former officers were part of a street crime unit known as scorpion. all five fired about two weeks after nichols was pulled over for alleged reckless driving. >> the families are relieved that they terminated the officers in a swift manner and they also are thankful that the charges were brought today. >> reporter: the district attorney says there were two confrontations on january 7th. >> one running on foot. >> reporter: in the first he says pepper spray was deployed and nichols ran away. >

facing a string of charges including second-degree murder from left to right a tree us haley, desmond mills junior and matt martin. the 3rd justin smith in to darrius bean court records say 4 of the officers did post bond. they were released from custody this morning. cities around the country were on high alert tonight in the wake of the video's release. here's a look around the country where >> protesters took to the streets demanding justice for tyree. many of them appearing to be peaceful. a protest even breaking out here in san francisco on mission street near the financial district. that one also a peaceful protest. >> and now to an interview that you will see only on kron 4 are justin campbell talked with attorney ben crump about the death of nichols. >> so hard to work these officers continue to brutalize this young man to a report of him attorney benjamin crump. we don't see them alongside his investigator. arthur read represents the tyree nichols family. crump says he was given the body camera footage showing 5 officers kicking pepper spraying and teasing nichols early january. >>

attorney represents former officer desmond mills junior says they are confident the questions of whetheresmond crossed the line that others are crossing whether he committed the crimes charged will be answered with a resounding no. on the video shared by the city of memphis you see officers aggressively yank nichols from his car and tased him before their leaders seem remotely seek kicking, punching and pepper spraying nichols after he runs away from their initial encounter. it would take more than 20 minutes for nichols to receive medical attention as he sat bloodied less than 200 yards away from his mother's home where he had been calling on for help with a 29-year-old died three days later. >> for a mother to know that their child was calling them in their need and i wasn't there for him, do you know how i feel right now? because i was not there for my son? >> nichols family has called for peaceful demonstrations. that is largely been the case as protesters take to the street here in memphis in cities around the country demanding justice for tyre. the district attorney announced charg

we expected to sit down and talk to the lawyer of former memphis police officer desmond mills junior,t but did provide a statement. he said mister mills and i will review those videos at the appropriate time. a thorough investigation of all available angles is needed before providing context or comment. my heart goes out to the nichols family and the city of memphis. we hope all will express themselves peacefully, following the release of those violent body cam videos the sheriff's office said it is investigating the content of two deputies who were on the scene after the violent beating of tyre nichols, they have been relieved of duty pending the results of internal investigation. will: thank you for that report. let's bring in james craig, former detroit police chief. i am sure you were listening to that report and you have seen the video. what are your initial reactions in seeing that video? >> thanks for having me on your show. when i look at that video i am deeply troubled like so many in law enforcement, so many in the community. here you have officers in a high crime unit, very

justin: attorneys for desmond mills junior and emmett martin saying that their clients intend to plead not guilty to all the charges. abc news reached out to justin smith and demetrius haley but have not heard back. those five former officers now facing murder charges will be arraigned next month. the memphis mayor saying the city is starting an outside independent review of the police department training policies and specialized unit operations. justin finch, abc news, memphis. liz: coming up this week martha raddatz sits down with ben crump to discuss the reaction and police accountability. you can watch the full interview on this week with george stephanopoulos right here on abc 7. in los angeles authorities say , three people are dead and four others are wounded after a shooting yesterday morning in an upscale neighborhood. lapd says it happened in front of the beverly crest home they believe has been used as a short-term rental. investigators did not confirm whether a party was happening there the time. the victims were found dead inside of a vehicle. the other four people who wer

. >> reporter: a defense attorney for desmond mills jr., one of the five charged with murder said his client has regrets. >> he is remorseful that he is attached to anything like this, that he is involved or connected to the death of somebody. i caution everybody to look at this with an open mind and to treat each of these officers as individuals. >> don't care what color of police officer, but by them being black, it hurt the black community. they have brought shame to their own families. they brought shame to the black community. >> reporter: and we know that tyre nichols's mother said that at the end of the video, there she hasn't seen it, her husband has. his father has, you hear over and over again tyre screaming "mom." . and she beliefs he was screaming that because he was about 80 yards from the house hoping that she could hear him to help him. she said she cannot get over the idea that she wasn't there in her son's greatest need. now i will also mention that there is a huge consternation on the part of the family and their attorneys about this scorpion unit that we have heard

in terms of how the former officers are handling the intense scrutiny while the attorney for desmond millsunior says his client is completely devastated by the whole ordeal. >> he could not be more upset about this entire situation. again, somebody who has dedicated his life to protecting society and the community, to be accused of being involved in the death of another is devastating to him. >> devastated or not the community is demanding justice for nichols. they held a vigil honoring him described as an innocent father to a 4-year-old who loved to skateboard and watch the sunset. >> that man was trying to go home. we can't even feed ourselves, we're not doing it no more. >> nichols died in a hospital on january 10th following a traffic stop three days earlier where officers are said to have kicked, pepper sprayed and tased him during the three minute long beating that's been described as savage. some of the response was caught on police scanner. listen to this edited version as officers communicate with dispatch. >> 2923. we have one male black running. >> eyes on the subject? one runni

a defense attorney for one of the now former officers, desmond mills, released a statement yesterday saying that he arrived late to the incident and suggested that he couldn't see after getting pepper sprayed. here's the quote. we are confident that the questions of whether desmond crossed the lines that others crossed and whether he committed crimes charged will be answered with a resounding "no." are you confident that all of these officers will be convicted of murder? >> i believe they all will be convicted of crimes. whether all of them will be convicted of murder, we have to continue to dissect this video. but one thing is for certain, dana. all of these officers failed their oath. they failed their oath to protect and serve. look at that video. was anybody trying to protect and serve tyre nichols? you know, the fact that they've all been charged and fired immediately and swiftly, the police chief said that the community needed to see swift action. they needed to see swift justice when it was these fact black police officers out committing a crime on tape, where in our community,

justin: attorneys for desmond mills junior and emmett martin saying that their clients intend to pleaduilty to all the charges. abc news reached out to justin smith and demetrius haley but have not heard back. those five fired officers now facing murder charges are due for arraignment next week. the memphis mayor saying the city will conduct an independent come outside review of the police department training policies and specialized unit operations. justin finch, abc news, memphis. liz: we are hearing more from the nichols family attorney, ben crump, about other incidences with these officers that may have contributed to this decision. this is what he said on this week. >> the young man said he was assaulted for five days before he was killed, simply going to get pizza. they said they attacked pulled him out of the car, yell profanity at him and put a gun to his head. liz: he said the man tried to report the account or twice to the memphis police department, but his calls were not returned. the unit was operating as three teams of 30 officers that claimed to target violent offenders a

. >> reporter: the attorney for one of the fired officers, desmond mills jr., saying in a statement, re confident that the questions of whether desmond crossed the lines that others crossed and whether he committed the crimes charged will be answered with a resounding no. the community and family stressing change in the police system, now trying to grieve their son. >> as a mother, you want to always be there when your children need you. so when i heard that my son was calling my name and i wasn't there for him, that just hurt my heart. >> reporter: despite that body camera footage, it's still unclear why nichols was pulled over in the first place. police initially said it was for reckless driving, but the police chief told abc news they have not been able to verify that in any video. whit? >> one of the many questions that remains in this case. stephanie, thank you. >>> there's more on the growing calls for police reform this morning, following the release of that body camera video. abc's elwyn lopez also in memphis for us. elwyn, good morning. >> reporter: whit, good morning. people

attorneys for desmond mills junior and emmett martin saying that their clients intend to plead not guiltyo all the charges. abc news reached out to justin smith and demetrius haley but have not heard back. those five former officers facing murder charges will be arraigned next month. the memphis mayor saying the city is starting an outside independent review of the police department training policies and specialized unit operations. justin finch, abc news, memphis. >> coming up this week martha raddatz sits down with ben crump to discuss the reaction and police accountability. you can watchnoulos right here c 7. in los angeles authorities say three people are dead and four others are wounded after a shooting yesterday morning in an upscale neighborhood in beverly hills, near beverly hills. lapd says it happened in front of a home they believe has been used as a short-term rental. investigators did not confirm whether a party was happening there the time. the victims were found dead inside of a vehicle. the other four people who were shot were standing outside and police say they have no o

. >> two of the indicted former officers emit martin the iii and desmond mills jr. have hired attorneys. at a press conference today their attorneys said at this point they're waiting for the video to be released, too. >> at this point we don't know what proof they have. because we have not seen, we do not have discovery. we have not seen the vi individl we are learning one of the former officers has posted bond and could be released in the next few hours. tomorrow morning we are expected to hear from the family of nichols and their attorneys and later in the evening the body cam video will be released for the public to view, bret? >> bret: charles watt sob in memphis, charles, thanks. >> bret: testimony underway in the murder case against a south carolina attorney accused of killing his wife and son. prosecutors say he did it to deflect from his financial situation. alex murdaugh says he did not do that insists that correspondent jonathan serrie has details from atlanta. >> alec murdaugh became visibly emotional as the court played body cam recordings from the firs

justin smith, but emmitt martin the third, desmond mills junior, justin smith, demetrius haley, and tadarrius

lawyers for at least two ex officers emmitt martin and desmond mills say they plan to plead not guiltyg us now is ellison barber live in memphis. what do we know about the roles of these two other officers and the three emts? >> reporter: when it comes to the two other additional officers, the big question you touched on it, the family of tyre nichols has and also community activists, why are we only finding out about these two officers now? one of the officers has been relieved of duty. we don't know their fame. we know the name of this officer, officer preston hemphill. we asked why his name was not released when the names of the other five were released, they said it was because he was not fired. he's on leave. when asked yesterday he was on paid or unpaid leave, a spokesperson with the police department did not answer. so right now what they are saying about these seven officers in total that were involved in this, they say that all of them were relieved of duty on january 8th, the day after the stop, the incident, the attack all took place. in terms of preston hemphill in particul

the attorney for desmond mills, one of the defendants here, said the level of culpability amongst the five officers are different and that his client didn't cross the line as much as others, saying he is not guilty of the crimes he has been charged with. what do you say to that? >> well, it's true that each of the five defendants participated in a different way in the death of tyre nichols. all of them acted together, and all of them, their actions taken together, resulted in tyre nichols' death. and under the principle of criminal responsibility under tennessee law, we feel comfortable bringing the same charges against all five of the defendants. and we're confident that we'll be able to prove each of those charges beyond a reasonable doubt once we get to trial. >> on the second degree murder chaerj, the law requires you to prove that the five officers were, quote, according to the law, reasonably certain their actions would cause nichols' death. how do you prove it was that over a heat of passion, an emotionally charged killing, which would result in a lesser manslaughter charge. su

desmond mills jr urged caution before passing judgment . attorney blake ballon releasing a statement, reading quote we are confident that the questions of whether desmond crossed the lines that others crossed and whether he committed the crimes charged will be answered with a resounding no. but really, this whole thing is sickening. january, the seventh those who took an oath to serve and protect us. they became the officers now free on bond facing the charge of multiple felonies , including second degree murder in memphis. steve harrigan, fox news a funeral for nickels is planned for wednesday, and mississippi boulevard christian church in memphis. a candlelight vigil and memorial is also planned at the regency skatepark in sacramento, where nichols lived before moving to memphis in 2020 that vigil in sacramento , set for monday. nichols is survived by his four year old son, his parents and siblings. kensington police are looking for help in identifying the driver of a two door porsche collided with a parked vehicle thursday morning. the su

an attorney representing one of the officers who has been charged in the murder of nichols, desmond mills, jr. said in the state, mr. mills and i will review these videos together at the appropriate time, a thorough investigation of all available angles is needed before providing context or comment. my heart goes out to the nichols family and the entire city of memphis and hope all will express themselves peacefully. protests remained peaceful just as the nichols family opened for. activists were passionate and say they plan to be back out again tonight and many hadn't watched the full video saying it hurt too much. earlier in the day, nichols had t had-- nichols' mother had this message. >> i want to say to the five police officers that murdered my son, you also disgraced your own families when you did this, but you know what? i'm going to pray for you and your families because at the end of the day, this shouldn't have happened. >> and you know, neil, those five officers, again, they've been charged with murder, but we're also told by officials here in memphis and in the county that oth

they are -- tadarrius bean, demetrius haley, desmond mills jr. and justin smith. the grand jury returned indictments against all five with the same charges. and we had previously met with the family of tyre nichols to go over what these charges were going to be and that meeting with the family i think went rather well. here are the charges. second degree murder. aggravated assault. aggravated kidnapping. resulting in bodily injury. aggravated kidnapping involving the possession of weapon. official misconduct through unauthorized exercise of power. failure to act when there's a duty imposed by law. and official oppression. while each of the five individuals played a different role in the incident, the actions of all of them resulted in the death of tyre nichols and they are all responsible. it's important to note as ms. williams said that is still an ongoing investigation and therefore there are limits on what we can say. we ask for everyone's continued patience. we also know that the public is very concerned about whether they can see the video about this incident

i spoke to one of the attorneys that just got off the phone with one of the attorneys for desmond mills, his name is blake ballin, the attorney, he thinks his client as it relates to his client that his client is being overcharged and even though the video is the centerpiece, i believes of their investigation, he thinks that it will show that his client, there was no reasonable belief that his client's actions would cause death and he believes that will be very difficult to prove in this case, even though that videotape is supposedly according to people who have watched it very difficult and very damning for those officers. >> don, i want you to stand by. we'll get back to you in just a moment. we're also learning new information tonight about the time line of events leading up to tyre nichols' encounter with the memphis police. cnn's nick valencia has a look at those crucial moments. >> if it was a legal detention to begin with it became illegal at a certain point. >> reporter: tonight nearly three weeks after the death of tyre nichols following a traffic stop in memphis, we're learnin

they are tadraius beam, desmond mills jr. and justin smith. the grand jury returned indictments against all five with the same charges and we have previously met with the family of tyree nichols to go over what these charges were going to be and that meeting with the family i think went rather well. here's the charges. second degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping resulting in bodily injury, aggravated kidnapping involving the possession of a weapon, official misconduct through unauthorized exercise of power, official misconduct through failure to act when there's a duty imposed by law and official oppression. while each of the five individuals played a different role in the incident in question, the actions of all of them resulted in the death of tyre nichols and they're all responsible. it's responsible to note, as mrs. williams said, this is still an ongoing investigation and there's limits on what we can say about this case. we ask for everyone's patience as we continually seek justice in this case. we also know the publi

attorneys for two of the former officers, desmond mills and emmitt martin, saying their clients intendplead not guilty. abc news reached out to justin smith and taddarius bean but have not heard back. an attorney for demetrius haley declined to comment. the attorney for former officer mills telling us his client is devastated by this. >> this is somebody who has dedicated his life to protecting all of us, and now he found himself in jail yesterday. >> reporter: on "gma" friday, the memphis police chief bringing into question the accusation of reckless driving that police say led to the initial stop. >> i do believe that the stop itself was very questionable, and we haven't been able to substantiate in any type of video that there was a reckless driving type of action that prompted this stop. >> reporter: as to why that video was released, the district attorney says it was important to this community and to tyre's family, to show the world and feel their pain. janai? >> all right, stephanie, so many watching that video. and joining us now from memphis are tyre's mother, rowvaughan wells

morning we were scheduled to sit down and talk with the lawyer representing former memphis officer desmond mills jr. who's one of the five officers charged with murdered nick nichols and that -- nichols and that didn't happen but the lawyer said we'll review these at the appropriate time and thorough investigation of all angles needed before providing comment and my heart out to the nichols family and entire city of memphis and hope they'll all express themselves peacefully and we know this morning that officials here in memphis say that other officers are being investigated for their roles in that beating including two sheriff's deputies who we're told had been relieved of duty pending an independent investigation. we also spoke to the shelby county da earlier this week who says more charges could be coming in the coming days as this investigation moves forward, guys. rachel: charles watson live in memphis, tennessee. thank you, charles. outrage over nichols death sparking protest across the nation. will: we're learning more about ttyre nichols, a son, and father who considered become ago polic

quickly, i wanted your perspective on one statement that we got from former memphis police officer desmond mills attorney who said his clients did not cross the lines that others crossed during their confrontation with nichols. what do you make of that defense? >> if he was one of the five and he didn't pull the guys off while they were beating the man, he crossed the line. i mean, he may not have had the baton in his hand. if he didn't push his fellow officer out of the way, grab him and subdue him, try to break up the victimization of mr. nichols, he crossed the line. they take an oath to protect and serve. they didn't protect him. and there is nothing that i have seen and nothing -- no reporting that has been public, and it's been a fairly transparent case, that indicates that there was anything that mr. nichols did that might have resulted in even an aggressive traffic stop or aggressive arrest. and so, you know, i don't know which officer he was in the video. i will say that. if he is one of the five and he didn't stop the attack, then he is just as much a part of it. >> makes sense. sheryl

. >> and joey, a defense attorney for one of the accused former officers desmond mills released a statement yesterday saying mills arrived late to the scene and added, quote, we're confident that the questions of whether desmond crossed the lines and others crossed and whether he committed the crimes charged will be answered with a resounding no. it does sound at this point that this is how perhaps some of the defense arguments are going to be shaping up here in the coming weeks. well my client didn't do what these other guys did. he was standing back. wasn't doing as much of the beating and the kicking as the other -- how do you -- how do you take stock of that? >> not very well. good luck with that defense. and here is why. jim, everything that occurs, there is a context. you have to know and understand and believe that even if your conduct may not be in the argument that you make to the jury as egregious as some of the others you're acting in concert. you are fully participating. if you didn't throw the -- if you don't throw the punch, did you kick him? . if you didn't kick him, were you

morning, neil, we were set to speak with an attorney representing former memphis police officer desmond mills, one of the five officers charged. that interview was abruptly can can -- canceled overnight, huh-uh but he says in a statement we will review the videos together at the appropriate time. a thorough investigation of all available angles is needed before providing context or comment. my heart goes out to the nichols' family and the entire city of memphis, and we hope all will express themselves peacefully. protests remained peaceful in memphis just as the nichols familied had hoped for. activist ises were passionate and say they plan to be back out again tonight. many hadn't even watched the full video saying it hurt too much, they were simply protesting to call for justice the, and it looks like justice may be on the way, neil. we've heard from officials here in the city of memphis and in the county, shelby county, say that of their officers and sheriff's deputies on scene -- other officers are being investigated for their roles in that beating including two sheriff's deputies from th

this is justin smith, em met martin, desmond mills jr., demetrius and tadarius bean. this is a case that has royaled memphis. it's also a case that chose how law enforcement responses to law enforcement killings are changing. he died three days after being pulled over for what was something that shouldn't have been a violent interaction at all, alleged reckless driving. the d.a. revealing more about what was a confrontation where nichols apparently fled on foot and feared for his life. there was a second confrontation then with this violent beating. this is what weh a looked like in the hospital. this is a tough photo to look at. this is a photo his family put out because they were concerned at the time about his health. this was before he died, and about the law enforcement response. this was after the january 7th traffic stop. he died three days later. as for the news today and what the relatively rare charge across all of america, the rare charge of officers facing accusations of murder, here's the d.a. today. >> each of the five individuals played a different role

john: fired memphis police officers demetrius haley, desmond mills, jr., emmitt martin iii, justin smith, and tadarrius bean, all charged with the murder of 29-year-old tyre nichols. police said they stopped nichols the evening of january 7 near his home for reckless driving and that he fled on foot. police say there was another confrontation police say after they caught up with him. nichols was hospitalized, complaining of shortness of breath. he died three days later. police said nichols had a medical emergency, but the family's attorneys said early results from an independent autopsy the family commissioned showed he suffered extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating. the attorneys say body camera footage shows a police beating that lasted three minutes and included pepper spray and tasing. civil-rights attorney ben crump. >> he's only about 80 to 100 yards from his house and he calls for his mom. three times, "mom." he calls for his mom. where's the humanity? where's the humanity? john: crump likened it to the 1991 videotape of los angeles police beating rodney king. nichols was

demetrius haley, desmond mills jr. martin third, and justice smith are now in custody .memphis police report they pulled nichols over for alleged reckless driving january 7th and that led to a confrontation. lawyers for nickels family say police pepper spray taste and kicked him. nichols died in the hospital three days later. five officers are charged with second degree murder, aggravated assault and aggravated kidnapping. berkeley police have released this video of a man in connection to an attempted kidnapping. you see, the man highlighted in this video here walking across bro plaza on the campus. investigators say it about five o'clock last night. that man approached a woman at hearst and euclid. i grabbed her arm and threatened assault her. the woman was able to pull away and ran to a cafe and she information about the men or the case, you're asked to call berkeley police educators in the west contra costa school district say they need a new contract and may go on strike. soon united teachers of richmond organized a rally outside lavonia dijon middle school and say m

meantime, the attorney for one of the former officers, desmond mills, jr. says his client is absolutely devastated. >> we want to proclaim that this is the blueprint going forward for any time any officers, whether they be black or white, will be held accountable. >> he could not be more upset about this entire situation. again, somebody who has dedicated his life to protecting society, to protecting the community, to be accused of being involved in the death of another is devastating. >> the former officers are accused of beating nichols so badly during a traffic stop that he ended up in the hospital intubated on january 7th. he died three days later. the incident which many have described as inhumane is also getting the attention of president biden, the u.s. attorney general, and the fbi director who said he was appalled and as this city braces for the release of bodycam video of the violent encounter this evening, the message from nichols' family is peaceful protest. >> we want peace. we do not want any type of uproar, we do not want any type of disturba