Three former Memphis police officers are currently on trial for their involvement in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols in January 2023. The officers, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith, are facing charges of excessive force, failure to intervene, and obstructing justice through witness tampering. A police lieutenant testified that the officers failed to accurately report the use of force on required forms submitted after the incident, violating department policies and potentially leading to internal discipline and criminal charges.
Nichols, a Black man, died three days after the beating, with police video showing five officers, all Black, beating him as he pleaded for his mother near her home. The officers’ reports did not accurately reflect the force used, with one officer even failing to mention his presence at the scene altogether. The former colleagues of the accused officers, Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills Jr., have already pleaded guilty to civil rights violations in Nichols’ death and are expected to testify for the prosecution.
Defense attorneys argued that the response-to-resistance forms, which contain the officers’ statements, should not be admitted as evidence at trial, but the judge ruled otherwise. The officers claimed they used “soft hand techniques” with closed hands, a technique that does not exist in department policies. The defense also argued that Nichols was actively resisting arrest, prompting the use of force and pepper spray. Jurors watched a video showing police trainees being pepper-sprayed and instructed to strike a dummy, with the techniques shown being acknowledged as part of their training.
The police lieutenant testified that officers have a duty to use proper techniques, such as armbars and wrist locks, instead of excessive force when dealing with suspects. He also stated that officers should intervene or call for backup if they witness another officer using unnecessary force. The prosecution argued that the officers punished Nichols for fleeing a traffic stop and failed to help him when he needed medical assistance, leading to his heart stopping for 25 minutes before being revived at the hospital. An autopsy report confirmed that Nichols died from blows to the head, with brain injuries and cuts and bruises found on his body.
All five officers involved in the incident were part of a now disbanded crime suppression team and were fired for violating department policies. They have also been charged with second-degree murder in state court, with Mills and Martin expected to change their pleas. The trial date in state court has not been set, as the federal trial for the three remaining officers is ongoing. The case has sparked outrage and raised questions about police brutality and accountability in the Memphis community and beyond.
