MEMPHIS, TN - Court documents reviewed by FOX13 show that the City of Memphis has asked the court for sanctions against the lawyers representing the family of Tyre Nichols in the civil suit against the city and the Memphis Police Department (MPD).
The court filing shows that the city asked for the sanctions after the statement that was released by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Tyre Nichols' family. The statement, which was plastered on posters around the city, called for vigilantism against the officers who were acquitted in the death of Nichols.
Law Enforcement Today previously reported on the acquittals of the three MPD officers that were involved in the beating incident that led to the death of Nichols. The former officers, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith were all found not guilty of second-degree murder, among several other charges.
The City of Memphis clarified that their issue was not with the lawyers' statements denouncing the posters, but with the statements made regarding the upcoming civil suit. The filing claims that some of the statements Crump made in the last paragraph of the release were false and that Crump knew they were false when he made the comments.
Specifically the city had an issue with Crump claiming that the city has "municipal insurance" to prevent itself from going bankrupt if Nichols' family is awarded the $550 million for which they have sued. The sanction filing says, "This is false, and Plaintiff's Counsel knew this statement was false when the statement was made."
The city also stated that they were required to provide Crump with any insurance agreement they had made that might be able to satisfy the terms of a possible judgment in the lawsuit. The city said they had done this three separate times, showing each time that the city is self-insured.
The city took issue with Crump stating that they had no interest in bankrupting the city and that anyone who claimed differently was engaging in fear-mongering. The filing reads, "But it was Plaintiff's Counsel who, on June 5, 2023, stated that he intends to bankrupt the City of Memphis through this litigation."
The filing added, "On June 5, 2023, at a celebration of Tyre Nichols' 30th birthday at Fourth Bluff Park in Memphis, Tennessee, Ben Crump stated: 'We've got to make sure that every time they kill us unjustly, that we bankrupt them to the point that they won't kill our children anymore.' Crump said. 'And so the people ... are going to try to send the message to not only police in Memphis, Tennessee, but police all across America, that you cannot afford to kill our children anymore.'"
Due to those statements, the city asked for three sanctions to be placed on Crump and his team:
For the court to order Crump to issue a correction explaining that he knew those statements were false when he made them and that they were intended to mislead people. The city also asked for this correction to confirm that they do not have any insurance that would cover the awarding of any damages;
For Crump to be forced to take down the original message from their website, social media platforms, and any other platform where it might turn up; and
For the court to order Crump and the other members of the Nichols' family's legal team to not make knowingly false statements to the public about the litigation.
According to ActionNews5, Crump's firm issued an update to the statements made in the aftermath of the sweeping not guilty verdicts for the three MPD officers. The updated statement said, "We wish to update and amend the statement we made yesterday regarding the Tyre Nichols case. The City of Memphis and the individual officer defendants do not necessarily have insurance that would cover any monetary recovery in the case.
In the disclosures the defendants have made in the case, the city has stated that it is 'self-insured' and the individual defendants have indicated that they do not have applicable insurance."
The court filing shows that the city asked for the sanctions after the statement that was released by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Tyre Nichols' family. The statement, which was plastered on posters around the city, called for vigilantism against the officers who were acquitted in the death of Nichols.
Law Enforcement Today previously reported on the acquittals of the three MPD officers that were involved in the beating incident that led to the death of Nichols. The former officers, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith were all found not guilty of second-degree murder, among several other charges.
The City of Memphis clarified that their issue was not with the lawyers' statements denouncing the posters, but with the statements made regarding the upcoming civil suit. The filing claims that some of the statements Crump made in the last paragraph of the release were false and that Crump knew they were false when he made the comments.
Specifically the city had an issue with Crump claiming that the city has "municipal insurance" to prevent itself from going bankrupt if Nichols' family is awarded the $550 million for which they have sued. The sanction filing says, "This is false, and Plaintiff's Counsel knew this statement was false when the statement was made."
The city also stated that they were required to provide Crump with any insurance agreement they had made that might be able to satisfy the terms of a possible judgment in the lawsuit. The city said they had done this three separate times, showing each time that the city is self-insured.
The city took issue with Crump stating that they had no interest in bankrupting the city and that anyone who claimed differently was engaging in fear-mongering. The filing reads, "But it was Plaintiff's Counsel who, on June 5, 2023, stated that he intends to bankrupt the City of Memphis through this litigation."
The filing added, "On June 5, 2023, at a celebration of Tyre Nichols' 30th birthday at Fourth Bluff Park in Memphis, Tennessee, Ben Crump stated: 'We've got to make sure that every time they kill us unjustly, that we bankrupt them to the point that they won't kill our children anymore.' Crump said. 'And so the people ... are going to try to send the message to not only police in Memphis, Tennessee, but police all across America, that you cannot afford to kill our children anymore.'"
Due to those statements, the city asked for three sanctions to be placed on Crump and his team:
For the court to order Crump to issue a correction explaining that he knew those statements were false when he made them and that they were intended to mislead people. The city also asked for this correction to confirm that they do not have any insurance that would cover the awarding of any damages;
For Crump to be forced to take down the original message from their website, social media platforms, and any other platform where it might turn up; and
For the court to order Crump and the other members of the Nichols' family's legal team to not make knowingly false statements to the public about the litigation.
According to ActionNews5, Crump's firm issued an update to the statements made in the aftermath of the sweeping not guilty verdicts for the three MPD officers. The updated statement said, "We wish to update and amend the statement we made yesterday regarding the Tyre Nichols case. The City of Memphis and the individual officer defendants do not necessarily have insurance that would cover any monetary recovery in the case.
In the disclosures the defendants have made in the case, the city has stated that it is 'self-insured' and the individual defendants have indicated that they do not have applicable insurance."
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Comments
2025-05-18T14:50-0400 | Comment by: CRAIG
So, I guess that it is alright to call for vigilantism against the police.
2025-05-22T18:01-0400 | Comment by: thomas
Deport him to Africa