MPD brass, ex-Atlanta police chief among those to be deposed in Tyre Nichols civil case

A list of potential witnesses to be deposed, filed Thursday evening in federal court, hints at where notable civil rights attorney Ben Crump, along with his large legal team, is looking to take the $550 million civil suit filed against the City of Memphis by Tyre Nichols' family.

The filing lists 109 potential deponents that includes Nichols' family, attorneys for the city, officers with the Memphis Police Department, current and former MPD top brass, and the former chief of the Atlanta Police Department, among others.

In addition to naming those Crump's team is seeking depositions from, the filing also describes what sort of testimony the depositions are expected to contain.

Notable among the MPD brass is MPD Interim Chief Cerelyn "C.J." Davis, Assistant Chief Shawn Jones, Assistant Chief Don Crowe and Deputy Chief Michael Hardy. Each of the brass listed is expected to testify to similar information, with Davis having an added expectation of discussing her time with Atlanta Police Department's now-defunct RED DOG Unit.

"Further, Chief Davis will testify in her individual capacity regarding training that police officers undergo prior to their employment with the Memphis Police Department, at the police academy, during their employment with the Memphis Police Department, and with respect to the SCORPION Unit in areas including, but not limited to, Terry stops, reasonable articulable suspicion, probable cause, traffic stops, foot pursuits, the use of force, the use of batons, the use of tasers, the use of pepper spray, the use of deadly force and the Fourth Amendment more generally," the filing read.

The list also includes former MPD officers, specifically those who once were instructors at the police academy, and former MPD Director Michael Rallings.

"Mr. Rallings will testify regarding his career within the Memphis Police Department, including his time serving as the Memphis Police Director," the filing read. "Mr. Rallings will testify regarding the Memphis Police Department's policies, patterns, practices, operating procedures and day-to-day operations before the hiring of Chief Cerelyn Davis, as well as any knowledge he has regarding those same topic areas after the hiring of Chief Davis and [beating of Tyre Nichols]."

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Former APD Chief George Turner, who the filing said directed the department to disband its RED DOG Unit — which has been described as a similarly styled crime suppression unit to Memphis' SCORPION Unit — is also listed as a potential deponent.

"[Turner] is expected to testify to the RED DOG Unit, how it functioned, how its officers were trained, the patterns, practices and policies of the unit, and the ultimate decision to disband the RED DOG Unit," the filing read.

Other personnel listed include members of the Inspectional Services Bureau — which conduct internal investigations for MPD, all of the former SCORPION Unit members, personnel working at the Real Time Crime Center, officers and deputies that were at the scene after Nichols was beaten, and members of the Memphis Fire Department.

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy was also listed as a deponent.

There are also medical professionals that treated Nichols at the hospital, along with those who conducted his autopsy, listed in the filing.

Nichols' family is also expected to testify, including his parents and siblings. Other Memphians who have alleged members of MPD, specifically officers who were part of the SCORPION Unit, are also expected to give testimony.

The list of deponents comes as attorneys for Nichols' family are asking Federal District Court Judge Mark Norris to allow attorneys to conduct depositions that are longer than normally allowed.

The filing requests that, in the case of Davis being listed as the only witness testifying on behalf of the City of Memphis, they be permitted to depose her for up to 35 hours over the course of five days. The City of Memphis has objected to this stipulation, as witnesses are generally permitted only a seven-hour timeframe to depose someone.

In the case that Davis was not the only witness testifying on behalf of the city, attorneys for Nichols' family have asked for up to 14 hours to depose each witness of that designation.

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Only two depositions have been scheduled so far — former MPD Officer Preston Hemphill and former MPD Lt. Dewayne Smith — but it was not clear from filings how long those depositions will be.

It is still unclear why Nichols, who was fatally beaten by officers with MPD's SCORPION Unit on Jan. 7, 2023, was initially pulled over. MPD's first statement said he was pulled over due to reckless driving, but Davis later said there was no evidence to indicate he had been driving recklessly.

In the federal criminal case, attorneys for the five officers charged — former MPD officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin, Desmond Mills and Justin Smith — have not said why Nichols was pulled over, but said a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation report found that Nichols' car had "magic mushrooms" and "stolen debit and credit cards."

Department of Justice attorneys quickly sought to seal motions containing "character evidence," arguing that Nichols was dead and could not provide statements to counter those made by the officers and attorneys. That TBI report has not been publicly available.

Lucas Finton is a criminal justice reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at [email protected], or (901)208-3922, and followed on X, formerly known as Twitter, @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis police leadership to testify in Tyre Nichols civil case