A jury has convicted three former Memphis police officers of witness tampering in the 2023 beating death of Tyre Nichols, but acquitted them of the most serious charges.
Jurors found Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith guilty of witness tampering. Haley was acquitted of violating Nichols’ civil rights causing death, but convicted of the lesser charge of violating his civil rights causing bodily injury. Bean and Smith were acquitted of all civil rights charges.
They were among five officers who were fired from the Memphis police department after the 7 January 2023 incident, which sparked protests in Memphis and across the US when footage of officers beating a young Black man was made public. Two of the other former officers, Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills Jr, pleaded guilty to depriving Nichols of his civil rights and testified for prosecutors in the federal case.
Haley, Bean and Smith had pleaded not guilty to the federal charges of excessive force, failure to intervene and obstructing justice through witness tampering.
The five former officers also have been charged with second-degree murder in state court, where they pleaded not guilty. Mills and Martin are expected to change their pleas. A trial date in state court has not been set.
The Memphis police department remains under investigation by the US justice department, which is examining whether Memphis police systematically violated the constitution or federal law and engaged in discriminatory policing.
“We love you, Tyre” chants outside the federal building as jury deliberations begin inside.
— Lucas Finton (@LucasFinton) October 3, 2024
Rev. Andre E. Johnson leading prayer alongside Nichols’ family, friends, activists and Rep. Justin Pearson. pic.twitter.com/UMD729YKMB
In the nearly month-long federal trial, which put a spotlight on how police in Memphis were used to treating the city’s residents, prosecutor Kathryn Gilbert told jurors that the officers wanted to punish Nichols for running from a traffic stop and that they thought they could get away with it. Prosecutors argued the beating reflected a common police practice that officers refer to as the “street tax” or “run tax”.
“They wanted it to be a beatdown,” Gilbert said. “That’s what it was.”
Defense lawyers sought to downplay their clients’ involvement. Bean’s attorney, John Keith Perry, told jurors that Nichols ignored commands such as “give me your hands” and said his client followed department policies.
“The force was not excessive,” Perry said.
Throughout the trial, jurors repeatedly watched clips of graphic police video of the beating and traffic stop that preceded it. The video shows officers using pepper spray and a Taser on Nichols, who was Black, before the 29-year-old ran away. The five officers, who also are Black, then punched, kicked and hit him about a block from his home, as he called out for his mother.
As they held Nichols, officers said, “Hit him,” and “Beat that man,” prosecutor Forrest Christian said during closing arguments.
“This was not a fight. This was just a beating,” Christian said.
Nichols died three days later. An autopsy report shows Nichols – the father of a boy who is now seven – died from blows to the head. The report describes brain injuries and cuts and bruises on his head and elsewhere on his body.
The five former Memphis officers were part of the department’s Scorpion unit, which was tasked with looking for drugs, illegal guns and violent offenders. It was disbanded after Nichols’ death.
Defense lawyers sought to portray Martin, who testified for the prosecution, as a principal aggressor. They also suggested without evidence that Nichols may have been on drugs – something Christian called “shameful”. The autopsy report showed only low amounts of alcohol and marijuana in his system.
After the beating, the officers did not tell medical professionals on scene or at the hospital that they had punched and kicked Nichols in the head, witnesses said. They also failed to tell their supervisor on the scene and write in required forms about the amount of force used, prosecutors argued.
Martin, one of the five former officers, testified that Nichols had been no threat to police. He discussed an understanding among members of the Scorpion unit to not report each other after they had used excessive force and said they would justify their use of force by exaggerating the person’s actions against them. He also described feeling pressure to make arrests to accumulate “stats” to be able to stay on the street with the unit.
Jurors began their deliberations Thursday, a day after prosecutors and defense attorneys presented closing arguments.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
