The officers, all members of the Memphis Police Department (MPD) SCORPION[a] unit, pulled Nichols from his car before pepper spraying and tasering him.

MPD Police Chief Cerelyn J. Davis later stated that the department had reviewed camera footage and could not find any evidence of probable cause for the traffic stop.

One officer, Desmond Mills Jr., pleaded guilty to federal charges of deprivation of rights and conspiracy and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors on November 2, 2023.

[20] According to his family's attorney, Nichols was "almost impossibly slim" due to Crohn's disease, and weighed 145 pounds (66 kilograms) at a height of 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 meters).

[26] All five were members of an MPD 30-person specialized hot spot policing unit known as SCORPION (Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace In Our Neighborhoods).

[27] Lt. DeWayne Smith, an officer with 25 years experience, was a supervisor in the SCORPION unit on the scene at the time of Nichols's beating.

In a news release, the MPD announced it would continue with the request, saying it had merely meant to ask for a delay and clarifying information as to whether an officer who resigned prior to termination could be decertified.

[35][36][37] SCORPION unit officers drove unmarked cars and many dressed in plainclothes and wore bulletproof vests marked "Police".

[46] From the moment that Nichols was pulled from the car, to being held on the ground, officers simultaneously yelled numerous commands, threats, expletives, and made "assaultive comments"[25] at him.

Two more police units arrived at the scene around 8:29 p.m.[50] Footage showed that one officer who remained at the area of the traffic stop said, "I hope they stomp his ass".

[51] At 8:33 p.m., Officers Bean, Mills, and Smith caught up to Nichols and had him on the ground at Castlegate Lane and Bear Creek which is approximately a half a mile (800 meters) away from the original traffic stop.

[52][53] The video footage showed officers had control of Nichols's arms when he was struck with the baton, kicked, and successively punched in the face 5 times.

In the body-worn camera footage, Michael Ruiz of Fox News reported, "officers can be heard discussing his alleged driving, 'swerving' and nearly hitting one of them".

[50] On scene, video footage showed officers issued at least 71 commands over 13 minutes; The New York Times described the orders as "often simultaneous and contradictory" and "sometimes even impossible to obey".

[68] The report claimed that at the initial traffic stop Nichols was irate, sweating profusely when he left his vehicle, and he refused to be detained.

[68] The released videos did not corroborate the police report's claim that Nichols "started to fight" with officers, or even that he had been violent at all.

[71] Seth Stoughton, a law professor and use-of-force expert, noted that an officer typically shouts it out immediately if they see a suspect reach for a weapon, and none did so in the videos of their struggles with Nichols.

[69] Preliminary findings of an autopsy commissioned by Nichols's family indicate that he "suffered excessive bleeding caused by a severe beating".

[82][83][84] By January 24, two Memphis Fire Services (MFS) emergency medical technicians (EMTs), Robert Long and JaMichael Sandridge, who were on scene had been relieved of duty without further explanation.

[103] On October 2 Shelby county judge James Jones Jr issued an order denying those requests, saying that severing the cases is not required to protect their rights to a “fair determination” of their guilt or innocence.

[104] On November 2, 2023, it was reported that Mills had agreed to plead guilty to all of the state charges as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors.

[106] On August 23, 2024, Martin pleaded guilty as well while appearing before U.S. District Judge Mark Norris in federal court, becoming the second of the five officers to do so.

[108] In September 2023, federal prosecutors charged the five officers involved with depriving Nichols of his civil rights (by both beating him and failing to administer first aid), obstructing the investigation and conspiracy to commit witness tampering.

[114] On October 2, U.S. District Judge Mark Norris delivered the jury instructions, which were read ahead of the closing arguments.

[125] On the evening of January 31, 2023, a ceremony and press conference with Nichols's family was held at the Mason Temple Church in Memphis, where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his final speech "I've Been to the Mountaintop" in 1968.

[127] U.S. Representative Steven Horsford invited Nichols's parents to attend President Joe Biden's 2023 State of the Union Address.

[133] By January 28, protests had also occurred in New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Portland, Atlanta, San Francisco, Boston, Baltimore, and Newark.

"[138] On January 27, in an appearance on Good Morning America, she said, "In my 36 years, [...] I would have to say I don't think I've ever been more horrified and disgusted, sad" about the video, and it was "still very unclear" as to why the officers stopped Nichols.

"[132][140] A moment of silence was held for Nichols before the NBA basketball game in Minneapolis at the Target Center on January 27 between the Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves.

"[142] On January 29, Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin said, "We need a national conversation about policing in a responsible, constitutional and humane way.