Three former Memphis police officers were found guilty Thursday in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols in 2023, a death that sparked nationwide protests and called for broader changes in policing. He was acquitted of the most severe charges..
Jurors deliberated for about six hours and returned mixed verdicts against Ta'Darius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith.
All were convicted of witness tampering in connection with covering up the assault, but Bean and Smith were acquitted of civil rights charges. Haley was found not guilty of violating Nichols' civil rights resulting in death, but was found guilty of a misdemeanor count of violating Nichols' civil rights resulting in bodily injury.
The court remained silent while the verdict was read.
The judge ordered the officers to take him into custody. He was scheduled to hold a hearing Monday to hear from his defense attorney about being released pending sentencing. The witness tampering charge carries a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The civil rights charges against Nichols carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. They could have received life sentences if convicted of the most severe charges.
Nichols' stepfather, Rodney Wells, told The Associated Press outside court: “A victory is a victory. They're all going to go to prison.”
Five police officers were indicted Nichols' deathHowever, the two men pleaded guilty and testified against former members of the Crime Suppression Unit, eliminating any defense strategy that might have relied on them coming together. The jury watched the following graphic clip repeatedly: police video When Nichols, 29, called for his mother, police officers were seen punching, kicking and beating him with batons just a few steps away from her home.
Comforting each other during a prayer vigil outside the federal courthouse as jury deliberations begin in the trial of three former Memphis police officers accused of assaulting and killing her brother Tyre Nichols in 2023. Jamal Dupree (left) and LaToya Izar (right). Thursday, October 3, 2024 in Memphis, Tennessee. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Prosecutors argued that Nichols was hit for fleeing a traffic stop and that it was part of a common police practice known in police slang as a “street tax” or “run tax.” They said the officers lied about the extent of the force they used to supervisors and medical professionals treating Nichols and in required written reports.
Nichols, who is black, fled the traffic stop despite being pepper sprayed and shot with a Taser. The five police officers fired after the assault were also black.
Some of the most emotional testimony at the trial came from Desmond Mills, one of the officers who took a plea deal in which prosecutors called for up to 15 years in prison. He tearfully testified that he was sorry for the beating. He left Nichols' young son without a father. And he said he should have stopped punching. He later testified that he accompanied cover-up Hoping Nichols survives and everything “blews over.”
Nichols died on January 10, 2023, three days after the beating. His son is now 7 years old.
Emmitt Martin, another police officer who reached an agreement with prosecutors, testified: Nichols was 'helpless' During that time, the officers beat him, and then the officers realized, “They weren't going to charge me, and I wasn't going to charge them.” Under his plea agreement, prosecutors plan to recommend a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.
The defense questioned whether the officers received proper training. They also noted that Martin admitted to being the primary assailant and punching and kicking Nichols in the upper body and head.
Police video shows officers pacing and talking to Nichols while he was suffering from his injuries. The autopsy report found that he died from a blow to the head. The report said there were brain injuries, cuts and bruises on the head and other parts of the body.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The five officers have also been charged with second-degree murder in state court and have pleaded not guilty, although Mills and Martin are expected to change their pleas. A trial date in state court has not been set.
