Feds Open Investigation Into Traffic-Stop Death of Memphis’ Tyre Nichols

Federal investigators opened a civil rights investigation into the death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black motorist who died three days after sustaining unspecified injuries in a traffic stop by Memphis police, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee said Wednesday. Both the FBI and Department of Justice agents were coordinating with U.S. Attorney Kevin G. Ritz’s office on the case, he said in a statement. The announcement brings the total number of active investigations on the matter up to three, adding to the probes already launched by the city of Memphis and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Local authorities have disclosed few details on the Jan. 7 incident, saying only that officers stopped Nichols for reckless driving before getting into two separate “confrontations” with him. The city said earlier this week that police body camera footage would not be released until after an internal investigation was complete, angering Nichols’ family. At a memorial service on Tuesday, Nichols’ stepfather, Rodney Wells, told the crowd, “We’ve got to stay strong, put up a hell of a fight—and we are not going down without a fight.”