Investigators are looking into a rumored connection between Tyre Nichols and the wife of one of the former officer charged in his murder, the Shelby County District Attorney’s office now tells Newsweek.
The revelation comes after a Memphis Police Department spokeswoman told The Tennessee Star there was no evidence to support rumors of Nichols’ involvement with the wife of ex-policeman Demetrius Haley.
Newsweek asked the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office if it is investigating the rumors, including reports that Haley sent photos of Nichols to his ex-wife following the violent arrest of the 29-year-old black man.
“All of this is still under investigation. Those are the things, along with the participation of others, that [are] now the subject of our investigation,” a spokesperson for the Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy told Newsweek in response.
Erica Williams, director of communications at the Shelby County District Attorney’s office, clarified to Newsweek that rumors about Nichols having a connection to the woman have not been “confirmed.”
“We know that there have been questions about other officers and Fire Department personnel on the scene, persons remotely operating cameras, the potential of false reporting, among other things. We are now at the stage of our investigation where we are looking into all of these matters,” Williams told Newsweek.
Earlier this week, Memphis Police Department Public Information Officer Major Karen Rudolph told The Star in an emailed statement, “There is no evidence that either of these claims are true,” in response to whether Nichols was targeted in the brutal police beating that claimed his life because he was involved with the spouse of one of the officers. The Star also asked whether one or more of the five former Memphis Police officers were affiliated with the Vice Lords gang.
The Star was prompted to pose these questions directly to the Memphis Police Department after more than two dozen sources in the Memphis area told The Star that both these claims were widely circulating.
By M.D. Kittle
