>> I'M JOINED LIVE NOW BY THE MEMPHIS POLICE
CHIEF, CJ DAVIS THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.
I'M GOING TO WEAR MY GLASSES BECAUSE I HAVE SPECIFIC THINGS I
WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT. THESE FIVE OFFICERS HAVE BEEN
CHARGED WITH SECOND DEGREE MURDER IN THE DEATH OF TYRE
NICHOLS. WHAT'S YOUR REACTION TO THESE
VERY SERIOUS CHARGES? >> WELL, I EXPECTED SERIOUS
CHARGES. I REALLY DID.
ACTUALLY, THE CHARGES THAT WERE PLACED -- AT LEAST THE
ADMINISTRATIVE CHARGES WERE PROBABLY THE MOST SEVERE I'VE
SEEN IN MY CAREER BUT THEY WERE ABSOLUTELY APPROPRIATE.
I KNEW THAT THE NEXT STEP WOULD BE IN THE HANDS OF THE DA'S
OFFICE SO I'M NOT SURPRISED. >> THESE ARE EXTRAORDINARY
MEASURES I MUST SAY IN ALL THE TIMES I'VE COVERED THESE
INCIDENTS TO FIRE THE OFFICERS AND CHARGE THEM SO QUICKLY.
DOES THAT SPEAK TO WHAT WE'LL SEE ON THE VIDEOTAPE WHEN IT'S
RELEASED AFTER 7:00 P.M. EA EASTERN.
>> ABSOLUTELY. OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS WE
HAVE TALKED ABOUT POLICE LEGITIMACY AND POLICE REFORM.
IT'S IMPORTANT THAT, IN INSTANCES LIKE THIS, WHEN THEY
ARE SERIOUS, WHEN THEY DO ARISE TO THAT LEVEL, WHERE A PERSON'S
CONST CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, THEIR
CIVIL RIGHTS HAVE BEEN VIOLATED THAT WE ACT AND ACT SWIFTLY.
>> WHEN DID YOU FIRST LEARN ABOUT THE INCIDENT, CHIEF?
>> IT WAS PROBABLY 4:00 IN THE MORNING, THE PREVIOUS DAY, 8:00
AT NIGHT, 9:00, THE INCIDENT OCCURRED.
ABOUT 4:00 IN THE MORNING I LEARNED OF THE INCIDENT.
AND IT WAS JUST A STRANGE SUMMARY OF WHAT OCCURRED ON THE
TRAFFIC STOP. I DECIDED TO GO IN THE OFFICE
AND MEET WITH THE INDIVIDUALS THAT HAD INFORMATION THAT I
COULD TAKE A LOOK AT IT, EVEN THOUGH AT THAT TIME, TYRE WAS IN
THE HOSPITAL, BUT STILL BECAUSE HE HAD INJURIES THAT JUST -- I
JUST DIDN'T UNDERSTAND. IT WAS INCOMPREHENSIBLE TO ME.
WE CAME IN THE OFFICE AND DECIDED TO TAKE A LOOK THAT
SUNDAY MORNING AND IT WAS ALARMING.
>> THAT'S WHEN YOU -- SUNDAY MORNING IS WHEN YOU FIRST SAW
THE VIDEO? >> THAT'S RIGHT.
>> WHEN YOU SAW IT, WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION?
>> I WAS -- I WAS OUTRAGED. I WAS -- IT WAS INCOMPREHENSIBLE
TO ME. IT WAS UNCONSCIONABLE.
I FELT THAT I NEEDED TO DO SOMETHING AND DO SOMETHING
QUICKLY. I DON'T THINK I WITNESSED
ANYTHING OF THAT NATURE MY ENTIRE CAREER.
>> REALLY? >> REALLY.
>> THAT BAD? >> IT WAS THAT BAD.
>> WHAT ARE WE GOING TO SEE THEN?
>> YOU'RE GOING TO SEE ACTS THAT DEFY HUMANITY.
YOU'RE GOING TO SEE A DISREGARD FOR LIFE.
DUTY OF CARE THAT WE'RE ALL SWORN TO.
AND A LEVEL OF PHYSICAL INTERACTION THAT IS ABOVE AND
BEYOND WHAT IS REQUIRED IN LAW ENFORCEMENT.
AND I'M SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, AS I SAID BEFORE, THAT INDIVIDUALS
WATCHING WILL FEEL WHAT THE FAMILY FELT.
AND IF YOU DON'T, THEN YOU'RE NOT A HUMAN BEING.
AND WE ALL ARE HUMAN BEINGS. AND I THINK THERE WILL BE A
MEASURE OF SADNESS AS WELL. >> HOW LONG DO THESE INCIDENTS
GO ON? WE HEARD FROM THE DISTRICT
ATTORNEY YESTERDAY AND FROM THE HEAD OF THE TBI THAT THERE WERE
TWO SEPARATE INCIDENTS, RIGHT? >> YES.
>> HOW LONG DO THEY GO ON AND WHEN -- WHAT WAS THE WORST PART
OF IT? BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT
THE OFFICERS BECAME CHARGED DURING THE SECOND INCIDENT, THAT
THEY GOT MORE RILED UP. >> WELL, FROM THE VERY BEGINNING
TO ME THEY WERE RILED UP. I DON'T THINK THEY WERE AS AMPED
UP AS THEY WERE AT THE SECOND SCENE BUT JUST THE STOP, THE
NATURE OF THE STOP, VERY AGGRESSIVE, LOUD, YOU KNOW,
COMMUNICATION. AND IT WAS -- IT JUST ROSE FROM
THERE. IT ESCALATED FROM THERE.
MR. NICHOLS WAS ABLE TO GET AWAY FROM THESE OFFICERS AND THEY
FOUND HIM, AGAIN, AT ANOTHER LOCATION AND AT THAT POINT,
THERE WAS AN AMOUNT OF AGGRESSION THAT IS
UNEXPLAINABLE. YOU KNOW, IN ANY INSTANCE WHERE
YOU'RE APPREHENDING SOMEONE -- EVEN IN THE WORST SITUATION
WHERE THERE IS RESISTANCE, OFFICERS STILL HAVE THE
RESPONSIBILITY TO EXERCISE CARE AND REGARD FOR ANY INDIVIDUAL
THAT'S IN CUSTODY OR THEY'RE ATTEMPTING TO APPREHEND, AND
THEY'RE TRAINED TO DO THAT. >> AND TO DE-ESCALATE.
>> AND TO DE-ESCALATE. THAT'S THE PIECE, I THINK, THAT
IS IN QUESTION. BUT I THINK THE ESCALATION WAS
THERE FROM THE OFFICERS BEFORE TRAINING EVEN NEEDED TO COME IN
AS IT RELATES TO DE-ESCALATE. THE ESCALATION WAS ALREADY AT A
HIGH LEVEL. >> YOU'RE SAYING THEY DID
EVERYTHING WRONG? YOU THINK THIS WAS OUTSIDE OF
THEIR TRAINING, EVERYTHING. >> ABSOLUTELY.
>> YOU MENTIONED, YOU SAID THE NATURE OF THE STOP.
>> YES. >> CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE NATURE
OF THE STOP. >> YES.
>> WHAT WAS THE NATURE? WHY WAS HE STOPPED?
>> I'M GOING TO BE HONEST WITH YOU ABOUT THE STOP ITSELF.
WHAT WAS SAID WAS THAT THERE WAS WITNESSING OF WHAT WAS
CONSIDERED RECKLESS DRIVING. WE'VE LOOKED AT CAMERAS, WE'VE
LOOKED AT BODY-WORN CAMERAS. AND EVEN IF SOMETHING OCCURRED
PRIOR TO THE STOP, WE'VE BEEN UNABLE TO SUBSTANTIATE THAT AT
THIS TIME. >> YOU HAVE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO
SUBSTANTIATE -- >> THE RECKLESS DRIVING.
>> AT ALL? >> NO.
WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO SUBSTANTIATE THE RECKLESS
DRIVING. >> THAT WAS WHY HE WAS
SUPPOSEDLY STOPPED. >> THAT WAS WHY HE WAS
SUPPOSEDLY STOPPED IN THE VERY BEGINNING.
THAT WAS A CONCERN. SO IN AN INVESTIGATION WE BEGIN
TO LOOK AT WHAT WAS THE PROBABLE CAUSE FOR THE STOP, WHERE WERE
THE CAMERAS? WAS THERE SOME EVIDENCE ON THE
BODY CAMERA, ALONG THOSE CAMERAS ON THOSE THOROUGHFARES?
AND WE'VE TAKEN AN EXTENSIVE LOOK TO DETERMINE WHAT THAT
PROBABLE CAUSE WAS AND HE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO SUBSTANTIATE
THAT. IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT SOMETHING
DIDN'T HAPPEN -- >> BUT THE CAMERAS --
>> -- THERE'S NO PROOF. >> SO BEFORE THE INCIDENT YOU'RE
LOOKING AT OTHER SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS AROUND THE CITY.
>> THAT'S RIGHT. THOROUGHFARES, AND EVEN BUSINESS
CAMERAS. ANY FOOTAGE WE COULD PICK UP TO
SEE WHAT OCCURRED PRIOR TO THE STOP?
THE INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW OF -- BASED ON WHAT WE
COULD OBSERVE IS THE STOP ITSELF AND THE FIRST OFFICER EXITING
HIS VEHICLE, YOU'LL SEE THAT ON THE BODY WORN CAMERA.
AT THAT TIME, THE OFFICERS WERE ALREADY AGGRESSIVE AND AMPED UP.
>> AND AMPED UP. >> UM-HUM.
>> SO YOU HAVEN'T FOUND ANYTHING TO SUBSTANTIATE THE RECKLESS
DRIVING. >> THAT'S RIGHT.
>> AND THIS WAS JUST FEET FROM HIS HOME.
>> THAT'S RIGHT. THREE BLOCKS AWAY.
>> HE WAS APPREHENDED BY THE SCORPION LEADERSHIP, LAUNCHED
UNDER YOUR LEADERSHIP IN 2021. >> YES.
>> WERE THEY LOOKING FOR SOME OTHER CRIME OTHER THAN RECKLESS
DRIVING FROM TYRE NICHOLS? >> ABSOLUTELY.
WELL, THE SCORPION UNITS, STREET CRIME OPERATIONS TO REPORT PIECE
IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS. IT WAS BASED ON THE FACT THAT WE
HAD AN OUTCRY BECAUSE OF THREE YEARS OF VIOLENCE IN THE CITY.
NUMBERS OF VIOLENT CRIMES, ROBBERIES, HOMICIDES, AGGRAVATED
ASSAULTS, AND THIS IS ONE OF THREE TEAMS, WHOSE PRIMARY
RESPONSIBILITY IS TO REDUCE GUN VIOLENCE, TO BE VISIBLE IN
COMMUNITIES, AND TO ALSO IMPACT THE RISE IN THE CRIME.
BASICALLY OUT OF AN OUTCRY FROM THE COMMUNITY.
WE HAD RECORD NUMBERS IN 2021, 346 HOMICIDES.
SO THIS UNIT WAS PUT TOGETHER AND THEY HAD GREAT SUCCESS,
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, LAST YEAR. IT WAS THE FIRST YEAR IN A LONG
TIME -- >> IS THIS AN INDICATION OF A
FAILURE IN THAT UNIT? >> THIS IS AN INDICATION THAT
THERE IS A GAP SOMEWHERE IN THAT UNIT.
MY OBSERVATION IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SEVERAL
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS. WE TRAIN AND WE RE-TRAIN THESE
OFFICERS JUST LIKE SPECIALIZED UNITS AROUND THE COUNTRY.
THESE OFFICERS IN WORKING IN SPECIALIZED UNITS, YOU ALWAYS
NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE SUPER VISION IS THERE AND PRESENT.
>> DO YOU FEAR THEY HAVE DONE ANYTHING LIKE THIS IN THE PAST?
DO YOU HAVE ANY EVIDENCE OF THAT?
>> WE DON'T HAVE EVIDENCE OF IT AT THIS POINT IN TIME.
HOWEVER WE'RE TAKING A DEEPER DIVE INTO PREVIOUS ARRESTS,
PREVIOUS VIDEO CAMERA FOOTAGE. WE ALSO REACHED OUT TO THE IACP,
WHO WILL WORK WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.
WE'VE ASKED THE IACP AND THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO COME IN
AND LOOK AT OUR SPECIALIZED UNITS.
WE DON'T WANT ANY GAPS IN ANY OF OUR UNITS.
>> I'VE HEARD ABOUT YOU FROM EVERY SINGLE PERSON THAT I SPOKE
TO THAT THE BUCK STOPS WITH YOU. >> YEAH.
>> DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE ANY RESPONSIBILITY IN THE FAILURE OF
THE UNIT? >> I CAN'T REMOVE MYSELF FROM
RESPONSIBILITY. AND, OF COURSE, WE CAN'T ALWAYS
BE WITH OUR OFFICERS BUT IT'S INCUMBENT UPON US TO ACT AND
HAVE CHECKS AND BALANCES IN PLACE.
BUT WE HAVE TO RELY ON THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE ALSO IN
SUPERVISORY POSITIONS AND COMMANDERS' POSITIONS BUT THE
ACCOUNTABILITY IS THROUGHOUT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT UP TO THE
CHIEF.