North Shore Police Condemn Memphis Officers In Beating That Killed Man

SALEM, MA — Several police departments on the North Shore issued statements this weekend strongly condemning what Marblehead Police Chief Dennis King said were the "heinous, despicable and illegal acts" of five Memphis police officers who were charged with second-degree murder after a man died as the result of a beating that the officers administered following a traffic stop earlier this month.

Tyre Nichols, 29, died three days after the Jan. 7 beating — the bodycam footage of which was released publicly on Friday night.

"We share in the outrage felt across the nation after witnessing the brutality and inhumanity shown at the hands of former members of the Memphis Police Department," Danvers Police Chief James Lovell posted on the department's social media account on Saturday. "The actions of those officers are in no way representative of what we expect and demand from our own officers or anyone who proudly wears the badge.

"They have brought shame and dishonor to all members of the law enforcement community and we adamantly condemn their actions."

Marblehead Police Chief Dennis King called the Memphis officers' actions "deeply disturbing and appalling, as those tasked with the duty of protecting citizens failed miserably," and said Marblehead officers are trained to apply force only when absolutely necessary and always in a way that is "based on compassion, understanding individuals' frailties, and treating everyone equally, with respect."

"The actions of the fired Memphis officers do not represent the hundreds of thousands of officers that come to work each shift," King said in a statement, "put their lives on the line and lawfully serve their communities. These were unlawful acts perpetrated against Tyre Nichols, by individuals not fit to wear a badge.

"They do not represent the officers of the Marblehead Police Department. After a deep look into the entire incident is complete, any takeaways that better our response will be examined, and thoughtfully implemented."

Peabody Police Chief Thomas Griffin also calls the beating "disturbing and appalling."

"The behavior of those five officers is excessive, outside of their training and criminal," Griffin said in his statement. "This type of behavior has no place in policing. No one should ever be subjected to the treatment Mr. Nichols was forced to endure."

Salem Police Chief Lucas Miller issued a joint statement along with Police Union presidents Officer William Riley and Sgt. Kevin McDonnell and called the beating "unconstitutional," "illegal" and "disgraceful."

"The prevention of violence against the helpless is one of the principal reasons we took the oath to become police officers," the Salem statement said. "To see exactly such violence applied by men wearing uniforms much like ours is truly sickening."

"The biggest honor of being a police officer is to protect and prevent violence against those we have sworn to protect," Swampscott Police Chief Ruben Quesada said on behalf of the entire SPD. "Those five officers failed in their sworn duty, and we send our prayers to the family of Tyre Nichols."

The Memphis Police Department said this weekend it was disbanding the "Scorpion" unit on which the five officers served. Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith each face up to 60 years in prison if convicted of second-degree murder.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)