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Mid-South lawyer and neurosurgeon weigh in on Tyre Nichols' autopsy

“The sooner we can get support and get aid, the sooner we can do things to prevent secondary brain injuries," said Dr. Sonia Eden, neurologists.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The public now knows the cause of death for Tyre Nichols. On Wednesday, an autopsy report requested by Nichols’ family showed that he died from blunt force injuries to his head. Toxicology reports showed a .049 alcohol level. That is lower than the legal limit. 

Tyre Nichols sustained multiple injuries, according to the report. Among that was blunt force injuries to the head, neck, torso, bruises, hemorrhages throughout his body and liver failure.

A neurosurgeon and a lawyer weighed in on what the results of the autopsy report mean as well as how this could impact the five officers charged in Nichols’ death.

Dr. Sonia Eden. said what stood out to her the most were the injuries to Nichols’ brain. It is called shear injury, which is a type of traumatic brain injury that is severe. 

Dr. Eden said this form of brain injury is usually seen in patients who are involved in motor vehicle accidents.

"The sooner we can get support and get aid, the sooner we can do things to prevent secondary brain injuries, so the primary brain injuries are caused by the insult and the trauma," Eden said "Secondarily, the brain reacts. We tend to get swelling and increased pressure in the brain that can cause decreased blood flow to the brain."

The autopsy report also showed Nichols had liver failure. Dr. Eden believes at some point, he may have needed CPR to help prevent other injuries. 

"The goal of CPR is to try to perfuse or send blood flow to the heart, but ... during that time all of your organs are getting enough perfusion or blood flow, and I think that, more likely, it's probable that he had some shock injury to his liver after that insult or after that CPR with decreased blood flow to the liver." said Dr. Eden said.

She said traumatic brain injuries affect people in different ways. Still, one aspect in Nichols’ favor would have been his age. The younger the age, the better outcome of survival rates.

With this autopsy report released, many are looking at the legal aspects. What does this mean for the five officers charged in Nichols’ death?  

Local lawyer Claiborne Ferguson said the released autopsy is going to narrow down what possible defenses are for those accused of beating Nichols.

"Obviously, now we’ve got a situation where it’s crystal clear what the cause of death was," Ferguson said. "It’s going to be their boots, their fists, their metal batons. The way that this usually plays out is that somebody is already trying to cut a deal."

Claiborne said, in criminal cases, you look at the person’s individual responsibility. 

"I guess at some point, the attorneys will start to claim that their defendants — their clients are less culpable than somebody else," Ferguson said.

He said the five officers also had a responsibility to protect constitutional rights and a duty to stop the assault. 

"I cannot imagine that these officers are not looking at jail time," Ferguson said. "This is an egregious egregious murder."

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