Three former Memphis police officers have been convicted of witness tampering over the fatal beating of a motorist in a case that sparked national protests and calls for broad changes in policing.
Tyre Nichols died on January 10 2023, three days after the beating following a traffic stop.
Jurors deliberated for about six hours before coming back with a mixed verdict for Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith.
All of them were convicted of at least one charge, but Bean and Smith were acquitted of civil rights charges.
Haley was acquitted of violating Mr Nichols’ civil rights causing death, but convicted of the lesser charge of violating his civil right causing bodily injury.
The witness tampering charges carry possible sentences of up to 20 years in prison.
Demetrius Haley was found guilty of witness tampering as well as was acquitted of violating Nichols’ civil rights causing death
Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean were also found guilty of witness tampering as well as acquitted of civil rights charges
Five officers were charged last year, but two pleaded guilty and gave evidence against members of their old crime suppression unit, eliminating any defense strategy that would have relied on them sticking together.
Prosecutor Kathryn Gilbert told jurors that the officers wanted to punish Nichols for running from a traffic stop and that they thought they could get away with it.
She argued the beating reflected a common police practice that officers refer to as the ‘street tax’ or ‘run tax’.
‘They wanted it to be a beatdown,’ Gilbert said. ‘That´s what it was.’
Bean’s attorney, John Keith Perry, told jurors that Nichols ignored commands such as ‘give me your hands’ and said his client followed department policies.
Throughout the trial, jurors repeatedly watched clips of graphic police video of the beating and traffic stop that preceded it.
Tyre Nichols, 29, died in hospital on January 10, three days after a traffic stop that ended with him being severely injured
Charged with second degree murder were (top, left to right) Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, and (bottom, left to right) Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith. Mills Jr. entered his guilty plea during a hearing at the Memphis federal courthouse on Thursday
The video shows officers using pepper spray and a Taser on Nichols, who was Black, before the 29-year-old ran away. The five officers, who also are Black, then punched, kicked and hit him about a block from his home, as he called out for his mother.
As they held Nichols, officers said ‘hit him’ and ‘beat that man,’ prosecutor Forrest Christian said during closing arguments.
‘This was not a fight. This was just a beating,’ Christian said.
Nichols died three days later. An autopsy report shows Nichols – the father of a boy who is now 7 – died from blows to the head. The report describes brain injuries, and cuts and bruises on his head and elsewhere on his body.
The other two officers, Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills Jr., pleaded guilty to depriving Nichols of his civil rights and testified for prosecutors.
Haley, Bean and Smith had plead not guilty to federal charges of excessive force, failure to intervene, and obstructing justice through witness tampering.
Defense lawyers sought to portray Martin as a principal aggressor. They also suggested without evidence that Nichols may have been on drugs – something Christian called ‘shameful.’ The autopsy report showed only low amounts of alcohol and marijuana in his system.
The five officers were part of the Scorpion Unit, which looked for drugs, illegal guns and violent offenders. It was disbanded after Nichols’ death
The five officers were part of the Scorpion Unit, which looked for drugs, illegal guns and violent offenders. It was disbanded after Nichols’ death.
After the beating, the officers did not tell medical professionals on scene or at the hospital that they had punched and kicked Nichols in the head, witnesses said. They also failed tell their supervisor on the scene and write in required forms about the amount of force used, prosecutors argued.
Martin testified that Nichols was no threat to officers
Martin’s testimony provided a glimpse into the Memphis Police Department´s culture, which the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating.
Martin discussed an understanding between members of the Scorpion Unit to not tell on each other after they used excessive force and said they would justify their use of force by exaggerating the person´s actions against them. He also described feeling pressure to make arrests to accumulate “stats” to be able to stay on the street with the unit.
The five officers also have been charged with second-degree murder in state court, where they pleaded not guilty.
Mills and Martin are expected to change their pleas. A trial date in state court has not been set