MEMPHIS, Tenn — Thursday, the Shelby County District Attorney’s office announced that at least 30 of the cases worked by the five former Memphis Police officers accused of Tyre Nichols' death have been dismissed.
In addition to the dismissals, the D.A.’s office also reduced the charges in at least 12 more cases, adding up to close to half of the 100 cases involving the former members of MPD’s SCORPION Unit.
“I've never seen the D.A.’s office have to dismiss so many cases because of one incident,” said attorney Claiborne Ferguson, who has practiced law in Shelby County for more than 20 years.
The dismissals include several of his own clients.
“We knew that the SCORPION Unit was using excessive force in most of our cases,” Ferguson said. “We were aware of that, we just never had it where it was so obvious and so well documented on film.”
Attorney Murray Wells said there are two main factors leading to these dismissals.
“One, no defense lawyers can let any of those five testify under oath to anything,” Wells said. “Second, if they did, they would be impeached immediately on their actions.”
Wells said that could increase the number of possible excessive force victims to come forward.
“That opens up the city to much broader litigation,” he said. “It's going to be very easy for anybody to make that claim now.”
However, both he and Ferguson said it means an untold number of crime victims will never get the justice they deserve.
“You've got people who were probably victims of excessive force, and then you have the people who are victims in the community who now will not get justice,” said Ferguson.
Wells said this is all due to the release of as many as 30 potentially violent or dangerous criminals, who will now escape punishment thanks to what those five officers did one night in January that the whole world has now seen.
“Those people are going to be on the streets only because of the actions of the officers regarding Tyre Nichols,” he said.
All five officers are expected to file pretrial motions. They are due in court Friday morning.