Tyre Nichols' official autopsy reveals brain injuries from blunt force trauma, DA says

MEMPHIS, Tennessee -- The medical examiner's official autopsy report for Tyre Nichols showed he "died of brain injuries from blunt force trauma," the district attorney's office told Nichols' family Tuesday.

While Nichols' mother has said that first responders told her her son was drunk and high, the report shows that his blood alcohol level was .049, the DA's office said.

The district attorney's office told the family that was "well less than the legal limit to drive."

Nichols' mother never believed her son was inebriated at the time of the incident.

The district attorney's office told the Nichols family that the autopsy will be released publicly soon.

A photo of Tyre Nichols is displayed outside the sanctuary during church service at Mt. Olive Cathedral CME Church, Jan. 29, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn.

Nichols, 29, died three days after he was beaten by officers during a Jan. 7 traffic stop in Memphis.

Footage of the altercation shows officers striking Nichols repeatedly.

Seven Memphis Police Department officers have been fired for their roles in the arrest.

Five of them have been charged with second-degree murder in connection with Nichols' death.

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy told reporters Tuesday that Nichols' autopsy is almost complete and that his office expects it to confirm that Nichols "died as a result of the injuries sustained in the beating."

A preliminary independent autopsy commissioned by Nichols' family in January found that he suffered from "extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating."

The attorneys for Nichols' family said Wednesday that the contents of the medical examiner's report are "highly consistent with our own reporting back in January of this year."

"We know now what we knew then. Tyre Nichols died from blunt force trauma and the manner of death was homicide," the attorneys, Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, said in a statement. "The official autopsy report further propels our commitment to seeking justice for this senseless tragedy."