MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A federal jury has convicted three former Memphis police officers of some federal civil rights violations and found them not guilty of others in the 2023 beating death of Black motorist Tyre Nichols.
Fired Memphis police detectives Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith were all convicted of obstruction of justice and witness tampering. They were also found not guilty of depriving Nichols’ of his civil rights resulting in death – the harshest charge they faced. Haley was found guilty of depriving Nichols of his civil rights and deliberate indifference resulting in serious bodily injury.
Members of Nichols’ family say they’re pleased with the convictions, and hope it sends a message that police officers can be held accountable for their actions.
Key evidence in the case was graphic body cam and surveillance video that showed five officers, all also Black, delivering what federal prosecutors called a “beatdown,” as they repeatedly punched, kicked, used police batons and pepper spray on Nichols during a traffic stop. It also showed officers seemingly bragging about the beating as Nichols gasps for his life on the pavement.
During closing arguments this week, federal prosecutor Kathryn Gilbert said the officers didn’t count on surveillance video catching what happened when they thought no one was watching.
She urged jurors to trust their eyes. “You saw the punches. You saw the kicks. You saw the baton strike,” Gilbert said. She also emphasized how Nichols had his hands in front of his face to protect himself as he called out for his mother — who lived just a block away.
Two of the ex-officers, Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills, Jr., pleaded guilty and testified against the others. They said Nichols, who weighed 175 pounds, did not pose a real threat to the five policemen.
Nichols, who was 29, died three days after the beating, and the coroner determined it was a homicide from blunt force trauma.
At the trial, which began Sept. 9, defense lawyers argued that it was a high-risk traffic stop and officers acted within MPD policy after Nichols ran a red light and failed to stop when pursued by police. They said officers escalated their use of force after Nichols ran from them despite being tased and pepper-sprayed.
Officers were trying “to arrest someone who was doing everything but complying,” Bean’s attorney, John Keith Perry said during closing arguments. “When a person runs from you they’re trying to escape custody,” he said. “It was not unreasonable force.”
“Is there a constitutional right to run from police?” asked lawyer Martin Zummach, who represents Smith.
The officers were part of the Memphis Police Department’s Scorpion task force — created to root out street crime in Memphis, and known for aggressive policing tactics. They were fired and the unit was disbanded after Nichols was killed. They were indicted in Sept. 2023.
Outside court on Thursday before the verdicts were announced, resident Paula Buress was holding a handmade cardboard sign with Tyre Nichols' name on it. She says local activists like her have tried for years to bring attention to police tactics in Memphis.
"It just corroborates everything we've been saying for a long time. The victims. We don't want to become complacent and forget about this long journey that we're on," Burress said. "It's just going to take a while before we can finally see if there's going to be a change in Memphis.“
Nichols’ death has amplified calls for police reform, and sparked the U.S. Justice Department to launch what’s known as a pattern or practice investigation looking at, among other things, the Memphis Police Department’s use of force, and whether officers engage in discriminatory policing.
Jurors deliberated nearly six hours before returning the verdicts. The ex-policemen will be sentenced in January. They also face state murder charges.
WKNO's Katie Riordan contributed reporting.
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