Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man was severely beaten by five Memphis Police Department officers during a traffic stop, leading to his death three days later. Although most people across the nation are protesting against the meaningless death of Nichols, which seems to have racist undertones, some people are beginning to circulate the rumor that Nichols might have been involved with the wife of one of the officers who have been arrested for his murder.

The five officers are Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III, and Justin Smith. All of them belonged to the now-disbanded Scorpion special unit launched in October 2021 with a focus on high-impact crimes. They were fired last week and taken into custody on Thursday. Each faces charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression.

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Although there has been no official word about any possible motives behind the actions of the officers, the rumor that he might be romantically involved with one of the alleged murderer’s wives went rampant on the internet. “#TyreNichols having an affair with one of the officers wives…#streetjustice” one Twitter user said, while another noted, “Tyre Nichols initial stop video… some people are saying this happened because he was also dealing with one of the officers wife.”

Another wrote, “I’m a born and raised Memphian with friends in law enforcement. I have heard from ppl close to MPD Tyre Nichols was indeed involved with an officer’s wife. The officers were actively looking for him prior to the stop. Tyre apparently bolted when he recognized one of them.”

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One more said, “So the rumor is that Tyre Nichols had an affair w/one of those officers‘ wives. If true, it needs to be murder in the first degree, and they need to be put away forever. It seems probable given it seemed they were out for him right away. #TyreNichols.” Another stated, “Allegedly, one of the officers who murdered #TyreNichols did it cuz he was sleeping with his wife. Wouldn’t be the first time #MPD officers killed someone over a woman. Get the criminals off the force. @MEM_PoliceDept”

It is important to note that an investigation is still on into Nichols’ murder and this rumor has not been substantiated by any authority.