Tyre Nichols, the victim of a vicious assault by Memphis police officers, died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head, according to an autopsy.
Nichols, 29, passed away on January 10—three days after being stopped for allegedly driving recklessly and subjected to repeated punches, kicks to the face, pepper spray, and stun gun shots.
According to the West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center’s report, his cause of death was determined to be a homicide on Thursday.
The Nichols family was briefed on the autopsy results by Steve Mulroy, the district attorney in Shelby County, Tennessee, earlier on Wednesday, the family’s attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci said.
“The legal team representing the family of Tyre Nichols acknowledges the release of the medical examiner’s report, the contents of which are highly consistent with our own reporting back in January of this year,” the attorneys said. “We know now what we knew then.”
“The official autopsy report further propels our commitment to seeking justice for this senseless tragedy,” the statement concluded.