A rumor circulating on social media has one of the Memphis police officers of beating Tyre Nichols because he had slept with the former girlfriend of recently terminated police officer Demetrius Haley.
Nichols’ stepfather said that was “just a rumor.”
Rodney Wells, Nichols’ stepfather, addressed the
theory as “just a rumor,” according to Fox 13 in Memphis. There have been many social media posts, like the ones below, that have concluded that Nichols, who worked at a local FedEx facility, was in a relationship with the mother of Haley’s child.It was rumored that after Haley participated in the beating of the 29-year-old man, took photos of him, and then sent them to the baby’s mother.
“BREAKING NEWS: I am being told that Tyre Nichols was in a relationship with and worked at a Memphis
Several people who responded to the post felt this beating was personal, based on the severity of the police officer’s actions.
“My son was not messing around with one of the officer’s wives,” Wells said Monday at a prayer vigil outside his home. “That’s just a rumor.”
Memphis police officers Tadarrius Bean, Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith were terminated January 20 after the Memphis Police Department revealed that the police officers had violated department policy regarding the use of force.
They were all charged with second-degree murder, as well as aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, official misconduct, and official oppression.
Nichols died at a Memphis hospital three days after fire department workers took him to the hospital, where he was initially listed in critical condition. The victim had been stopped by police officers and was pulled over for reckless driving on January 7 before the officers beat him.