and haven't heard about the fifth officer yet, and we haven't heard what the charges are for emmitt martin iii former officer but if there's differentiation in charges it will give you some indication of who was, you know, involved in the beating and would was potentially standing by because one of the things the police chief said was that they had a duty to intervene and did not do their duty. they have a duty to serve and protect and anyone will tell you that is not what happened here. >> it's a really important point that these charges, what they are might tell us a little about what we might see in this video and also to keep in mind as i know you know, sara, the initial charges are not always what they end up being, sometimes these charges can be upgraded as these cases go on. there is much more to come in the story. we are waiting for word about two of the other officerers who could be or likely to be chahard in the coming hohours and minut, we'll get back to sara as soon as we have information and stay with us. we'll be right back after a quick break. with a one-second scan, i know my g

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: 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. >

> reporter: retired shelby county sheriff's captain, benny cobb, visited with former officer emmitt martin iii said martin was remorseful but defended his use of force. >> i saw the pain on his face. he said he hadn't slept, you know n probably five or six days. when he was expressing to me the things that went on, he was teary eyed. >> reporter: memphis police chief sarah lynn davis was absent from the news conference this afternoon. wednesday, she made her first on-camera comments about this case. >> this incident was heinous, reckless, and inhumane. and in the vein of the transparency, when the video is released in the coming days, you will see this for yourselves. >> reporter: nick valencia, cnn, less than or equal to. >> thanks to nick for that. potential charges and federal charges as well as what this says about policing injustice in this country. tom perez, former dnc chair, former labor secretary, and especially to the point tonight, former head of the civil rights division at the justice department. also ron johnson. captain johnson, first to you. based on what you've heard about wha

earlier we spoke to a family friend of one of the officers involved, emmitt martin iii. we spoke to beanie cobb, a retired sheriff and he said martin showed up in his office a few days after that appearing remorseful. >> i saw the pain on his face. he said he hadn't slept in five days. when he was expressing to me the things that went on, he was teary-eyed. >> reporter: cobb said martin defended his use of force saying he had to do what he had to do to get nichols into custody. pamela? >> the district attorney does not believe he did what he needed to do. nick valencia, thank you. here to discuss, civil rights attorney aretha martin, captain ron johnson and former richmond, virginia, police officer joe estid. aretha, each officer is facing the same charges, even though as the d.a. said they played different roles. he says they're all responsible for his death. what do you make of that and that strategy? >> pamela, it tells us all these officers played some role. we know if any of them had even made any effort to intervene, to stop the other officers, perhaps they would b

the attorney, william massey represents emmitt martin iii. they're working to find that out. one, the status, best as we know of the other four still unclear but that certainly is a strong signal. >> reporter: yeah, i've been in touch with mr. massey. so they're all behind us. the officers, that's why we're here, the officers who have been arrested and are waiting to find out what they're charged with, they're behind us. this is the jail and this is the courthouse and behind the courthouse attached to it is the jail and that's where we believe the officers are and like i said, we're waiting for this to be docketed and once it is docketed, we will then be able to learn exactly what the charges are. the process, our understanding these officers would have to go before a commissioned court for a bond and they are expected to get bond then they will be released and then there's a question about arraignment, obviously, and what the next steps are but certainly these attorneys that are involved in this case, they've all been notified of which one of their clients have been charged

. >> tad darius bean, desmond mills and emmitt martin iii were all fired from the memphis police department and now stand charged with seven crimes -- second-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression. and there is police body cam and sky camera video showing it all, something police will soon release to the public. >> i'm grieved. frankly, i'm shocked. i'm sickened by what i saw. what happened here does not at all reflect proper policing. this was wrong. this was criminal. >> reporter: attorneys for two of the former officers responded to the tbi's damning statement. >> when you heard that, what did you think? and have your clients heard all of the charges against them? >> i felt i wish i had seen the video so i could evaluate what he said. >> to say things like that when you have a tinderbox that we're all concerned about, i have questions about whether those are the right words to use, whether this was the right timing, and whether the government should be saying those things about people who are inno

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