The New Tri-State Defender - September 14-20, 2023

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September 14 - 20, 2023

VOL. 72, No. 37

www.tsdmemphis.com

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5 former officers charged with federal civil rights violations in Tyre Nichols beating death by Adrian Sainz and Jonathan Mattise The Associated Press

Five former Memphis police officers were charged Tuesday with federal civil rights violations in the beating death of Tyre Nichols as they continue to fight second-degree mur-

der charges in state courts arising from the killing. Tadarrius Bean, Desmond Mills, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin and Justin Smith were indicted in U.S. District Court in Memphis. The four-count indictment charges them with deprivation of rights under the color of law through excessive force

and failure to Tadarrius intervene, and Bean through deliberate indifference; conspiracy to witness tampering; and obstruction of justice through witness tampering. The charges come nine months after the violent beating during a Jan. 7 traffic stop near Nichols’ Memphis

Demetrius Haley

Emmitt Martin III

home, in which they punched, kicked and slugged the 29-year-old with a baton as he yelled for his mother. Nichols died at a hospital three days later. The five former officers, all Black like Nichols, have pleaded not guilty to state charges of second-de-

Desmond Mills Jr.

Justin Smith

gree murder and other alleged offenses in the case. “We all heard Mr. Nichols cry out for his mother and say ‘I’m just trying to go home,’” Attorney General

SEE POLICE ON PAGE 2

MEMPHIS MAYORAL ELECTION

Floyd Bonner Jr.

Karen Camper

J. W. Gibson

Michelle McKissack

(L-R) Debate panelists Curtis Weathers, education columnist for The New Tri-State Defender; Richard Ransom, news anchor and managing editor for ABC Channel 24, and Otis Sanford, commentator and political analyst for Channel 24, and columnist for The Daily Memphian, listen intently to responses from Memphis mayoral candidates. (Photos by Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises/The New Tri-State Defender)

Van Turner Jr.

Paul Young

City of Memphis mayoral debate sponsored by ABC-TV Channel 24 and The New Tri-State Defender. City elections are Oct. 5. Early voting begins Friday (Sept. 15). Like the previous debate held Aug. 15 hosted by The Daily Memphian and WKNO, former mayor Dr. Willie W. Herenton elected to sit out

Board president Michelle McKissack. “How are you going to be accountable to the people, instead of resting on the laurels of something that happened 15 years ago, when you were last mayor … I know that you like to hold court at Houston’s Restaurant.” Although the rest of the lineup lacks the political experience of the

83-year-old Herenton, who won five consecutive mayor elections, the field isn’t short on name recognition. In addition to Herenton and McKissack, it includes Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr., State Rep. Karen Camper, Downtown Com-

Six mayoral candidates vie for an edge during ABC24-TSD debate

by James Coleman

Special to The New Tri-State Defender

Minus one of the expected frontrunners, six of the 17 candidates for Memphis mayor jockeyed for position in front of a television audience during Monday (Sept. 11) during a

the discussion. He’s currently in the lead of the 17-member field, polling at 16 percent, according to an Emerson College Polling/WREG-TV News Channel 3 survey of likely Memphis voters in Memphis. “Where are you?” wondered former Memphis-Shelby County School

SEE DEBATE ON PAGE 5

TVA nomination steps Patrice J. Robinson closer to a long-held goal by Karanja A. Ajanaku kajanaku@tsdmemphis.com

For years, Patrice J. Robinson told just about anyone who would listen of her desire to serve on the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors.

She soon may get the chance. This week President Joe Biden nominated the term-limited Memphis City Council member for the board of the utility giant that provides electricity for 153 local power companies serving 10 million people in Tennes-

see and parts of six surrounding states, as well as directly to 58 large industrial customers and federal installations. “I am on cloud nine, if there’s such a thing,” said Robinson after learning of her nomination via a call from the White House.

“For about four years, I’ve been telling people that’s what I wanted to do. I asked everybody in the world, ‘How do you make that happen? Who do I need to talk to? Is there an application process?’ And I couldn’t get anybody to answer anything. And as much as

I talked about it, I guess somebody, I don’t know who, got the message.” Robinson said her long-held desire to serve on the TVA board is tied to wanting to “complete the work that I have

SEE ROBINSON ON PAGE 2

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