3 former Memphis police officers found not guilty in the beating death of Tyre Nichols

A jury has found three former Memphis, Tenn., police officers not guilty of all state charges in the death of Tyre Nichols, including second-degree murder.

Memphis police officers found not guilty

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith faced a total of seven counts in state charges for their role in the 2023 fatal beating of Nichols, who had told officers he was on his way home when they stopped him.

The three defendants still may face years in prison after they were convicted of federal charges last year of witness tampering for misleading superiors about their actions.

Two other former officers previously pleaded guilty in both state and federal court, including Emmitt Martin, who defense attorneys blamed for the majority of the violence. Bean and Smith were acquitted of violating Nichols’ civil rights, but the jury found Haley guilty.

The horrific incident

On Jan. 7, 2023, Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, fled a traffic stop after he was pulled out of his car, pepper-sprayed and hit with a Taser.

Five Memphis officers, who are also Black and was part of a now defunct SCORPION unit, caught up with him and reportedly punched, kicked and hit him with a police baton, struggling to handcuff Nichols as he called out for his mother just steps from his home, prosecutors said. Nichols died Jan. 10, 2023 at a local hospital.

Footage of the beating captured by a police pole camera also showed the officers, talking and laughing as Nichols struggled with his injuries. The video was released to the public, prompting scrutiny and outrage at how Memphis police handled the incident.

Investigation into Memphis police officers

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the United States Department of Justice both opened investigations into the incident. The autopsy determined Nicholas’s cause of death as “blunt force trauma to the head”, and the manner of death as homicide.

The five officers who assaulted Nichols were dismissed from the Memphis Police Department (MPD) on January 8, 2023. They were arrested and charged on January 26 with second-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, official misconduct, and official oppression. Three of the officers pleaded not guilty to the charges.

One officer, Desmond Mills Jr., pleaded guilty to federal charges of deprivation of rights and conspiracy and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. Another officer, Emmett Martin III, who initially pleaded not guilty, changed his plea to guilty on August 23, 2024.

The MPD disciplined, relieved of duty, or arrested thirteen officers regarding their conduct. Memphis Fire Services also terminated three employees for their failure to evaluate or assist Nichols.

The SCORPION unit, assembled by Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn J. Davis, in October 2021, to deal with serious crimes was disbanded in the wake of Nichols’ death.

Attorney statement on Memphis police officers being found not guilty

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents Nichols’ family, issued a statement expressing outrage at the outcome of the trial.

“Today’s verdicts are a devastating miscarriage of justice,” the statement reads. ”The world watched as Tyre Nichols was beaten to death by those sworn to protect and serve.”

Tyre DeAndre Nichols was born June 5, 1993. At the time of his death, the 29-year-old worked for FedEx, was a loving father, and was an amateur photographer with a photography website.

Nichols was raised in Sacramento, California, and moved to Memphis in 2020.

Nichols’s mother is suing the city of Memphis for $550 million. The case is slated to go to trial next year.