The legal grappling in the aftermath of Tyre Nichols' tragic death intensifies as Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy has been dealt with a subpoena, a maneuver launched by the governance of the City of Memphis. The city's attorneys are demanding that Mulroy disgorge all manners of communication exchanged with both the bereaved family's legal team and the family of Nichols, the man who died ensuing a violent encounter with Memphis police officers. This action was rooted in a federal civil lawsuit filed by Nichols' estate aimed squarely at the city.
The incident that triggered this avalanche of legal strife occurred on January 7, 2023, when Memphis Police Department’s SCORPION Unit, now disbanded, conducted a traffic stop that led to Nichols' severe beating. He succumbed to his injuries three days later, prompting second-degree murder charges to be levelled against the five former officers involved: Desmond Mills, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith, Emmitt Martin III, and Taddarius Bean. The City of Memphis, in a strategic move, has apparently decided to thoroughly sift through all pertinent correspondence to cleanly delineate the parameters of the case. According to Action News 5, the subpoena requires Mulroy to produce "all documents and communication" between his office and the Nichols family's representatives.
RowVaughn Wells, Nichols’ mother, is steadfastly pursuing a $550 million civil lawsuit against the defendants comprising the City of Memphis, its provisional police chief C.J. Davis, and the five former officers charged in her son’s case. As FOX13 Memphis delineated, the subpoena was duly served and notably archives "any and all communication and documents" between Wells and Mulroy, alongside all pertinent voicemails, audio recordings and documentation that exhibit Mulroy's supposed entitlement or emissions relating to the ongoing civil litigation.
The narrative further unfolds as the District Attorney's office confirms its intention to comply. "We’ve already initiation communication with the attorney seeking the information," was the official statement issued, as noted by Local Memphis. Beyond just the discourse involving Wells and Mulroy, the subpoena delineates a comprehensive list of communications including those exchanged with two other former officers, Preston Hemphill and Dewayne Smith, who equally faced termination but escaped criminal charges for their roles in the Nichols stop. Wells’ attorneys, meanwhile, have yet to offer their commentary on this latest legal twist.
