Cop charged with Tyre Nichols' murder head of 'violent' frat that beat students
One of the cops charged with the murder of Tyre Nichols was once the president of a fraternity that had grim hazing rituals including paddling a man's testicles up to 200 times.
Tadarrius Bean, 24, was once the head of the Omega Psi Phi's Eta Zeta chapter at the University of Mississippi, his LinkedIn has revealed.
Bean remains in custody as a result of the charges against him and four others in Memphis, Tennessee.
A chapter of the fraternity in Virginia was once at the centre of a storm after members were forced to pout hot sauce on their genitals.
The fraternity's New York branch came under fire in 2018 after member Tony Gates, then 45, was hospitalised after being struck 150-200 times by hands and a paddle while pledging to the Alpha Upsilon graduate chapter.
Man in 30s dies after being stabbed in park sparking police probeOmega Psi Phi - founded in 1911 at Howard University in Washington DC - advertises itself as the "first international fraternal organisation founded on the campus of a historically black college."
In 2001, the death of a 25-year-old Tennessee State University student who suddenly collapsed while jogging was ruled the result of a fraternity hazing.
Joseph T. Green Jr was asked to perform various physical activities and collapsed while jogging around a running track. His cause of death was listed as hypothermia and an acute asthma attack.
Bean, meanwhile, is charged alongside Demetrius Haley, Emmit Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith, all serving police officers at the time.
The five men were also charged with aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, official oppression and aggravated assault.
Nichols' death has sparked countrywide outrage and some unrest has been caused after a video of the incident was released by authorities. President Joe Biden said he was "deeply pained" by the footage.
Protesters in Memphis blocked a bridge on Interstate 55 chanting: "Say his name! Tyre Nichols!"
Nichols, a dad of a four-year-old boy, died after he was pulled over by police. He was returning from taking pictures of a sunset in a local park.
After the brutal attack on January 7, he was left propped up against a car for 20 minutes without being given first aid. he died in hospital three days later.
Nichols, 29, could be heard shouting for his mum as officers repeatedly beat him.
Russian model killed after calling Putin a 'psychopath' was strangled by her exAs he was pushed into the ground one officer shouted: "Put your hands behind your back before I break your [expletive]."
Mr Nichols says to the policemen "You guys are really doing a lot right now" and "I'm just trying to go home."
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said the video showed acts that "defied humanity".
Biden added: "Like so many, I was outraged and deeply pained to see the horrific video of the beating that resulted in Tyre Nichols’ death."
"It is yet another painful reminder of the profound fear and trauma, the pain, and the exhaustion that Black and Brown Americans experience every single day."