Three ex-Memphis police officers were convicted Thursday in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, but were acquitted of the harshest charges they faced in their federal trial.
After about six hours of deliberating, the jury convicted Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith of witness tampering related to the cover-up of the beating.
Haley was acquitted of violating Nichols’ civil rights causing death, but convicted of the lesser charge of violating his civil rights causing bodily injury. He was also convicted of a charge of conspiracy to witness tamper.
Bean and Smith were acquitted of civil rights charges.
Tyre Nichols was fatally beaten by police during a traffic stop in Memphis, Tenn., on Jan. 7, 2023.
Courtesy of the Nichols family via AP Tyre Nichols (Courtesy of the Nichols family via AP, File)
The witness tampering charges carry possible sentences of up to 20 years in prison. They faced life in prison if convicted of the most-serious charges.
Former officers Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr. previously pleaded guilty to using excessive force and conspiring to witness tamper and testified for the prosecution.
All five ex-officers are Black. Each was fired after the beating.
Nichols, 29, a Black man, was pulled over by Martin the night of Jan. 7, 2023. Martin claimed Nichols was driving recklessly.
In footage released by the city, Martin and Haley approached with guns drawn before pulling Nichols from the car and wrestling with him and pepper spraying him.
At some point, Nichols got loose and ran from the scene as Preston Hemphill, a white former officer who was not charged, fired his Taser.
It’s unclear if he was hit, but other officers tackled Nichols and starting punching, kicking, pepper spraying and hitting him with batons. He was eventually handcuffed and placed against a police car where footage shows him slumping over as the officers laugh.
He was taken to the hospital in critical condition and was placed on a ventilator, but died three days later.
The incident led to two Justice Department reviews of the Memphis Police Department’s practices.
“Tyre Nichols should be alive today,” Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke said. “We hope this prosecution provides some measure of comfort as the law enforcement officers tied to his death have been held accountable.”
A sentencing hearing was scheduled for Jan. 22, 2025.
The five officers have also been charged with second-degree murder in state court, but no trial date has been set.
“Today, justice has prevailed for Tyre Nichols and his family,” civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci said in a statement.
“We hope this moment serves as a reminder that our fight for justice for Tyre is far from over. We will continue to push for justice in the state criminal case and the civil case, so that no family has to endure this kind of heartache again. Our thoughts are with Tyre’s family as they continue to navigate this painful journey.”
