MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The $550 million civil lawsuit brought against the City of Memphis by RowVaughn Wells, the mother of Tyre Nichols, would “essentially bankrupt the city” according to court documents.
The document was written in response to Wells’ motion for a protective order, objecting to “any independent source of information about Mr. Nichols beyond what Plaintiff or her immediate family members can provide.”
The document goes further to show that the discovery dispute between Wells and the City of Memphis involves access to phone records showing communication between Nichols and his close friends.
The three former MPD officers were charged in Tyre Nichols death' and were on trial for nearly four weeks. Nichols had been stopped and beaten by the former SCORPION unit members on Jan. 7, 2023, Nichols died three days later at St. Francis Hospital.
The officers had originally been charged with deprivation of rights under the color of law through excessive force and failure to intervene, and through deliberate indifference; conspiracy to witness tampering; and obstruction of justice through witness tampering.
The officers are still set to stand trial in the state case, in which they are charged with a host of offenses, including second-degree murder.
