Ex-officers acquitted in Nichols’ death

N’dea Yancey-Bragg and Lucas Finton

USA TODAY NETWORK

An out-of-town jury in Tennessee’s state case in the death of Tyre Nichols returned not guilty verdicts on all counts for three of the former Memphis police officers who were charged, though they continue facing federal prison time.

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith Jr. were charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. After 81/2 hours of deliberation, the mostly white jury from Hamilton County in the eastern part of the state found them not guilty of all charges, including lesser offenses.

During a 2023 traffic stop, five officers pepper-sprayed, punched and kicked Nichols, a 29-year-old father, skateboarder and FedEx worker. The release of video of the beating sparked protests and vigils across the nation, as well as calls for change within the Memphis Police Department.

As the not guilty verdicts were read off by Judge James Jones Jr., some of Nichols’ family members could be seen crying. The now-acquitted former officers hugged their attorneys and their family members were crying after the jury had left.

'Hallelujah, thank you Jesus,' one family member of a former officer could be heard shouting repeatedly in the hallway.

In the wake of the trial, the legal team representing Nichols’ family said they were 'outraged' at the verdicts.

'Today’s verdicts are a devastating miscarriage of justice,' Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, the attorneys representing Nichols’ family, said in a news release. 'The world watched as Tyre Nichols was beaten to death by those sworn to protect and serve. That brutal, inhumane assault was captured on video, yet the officers responsible were acquitted. Tyre’s life was stolen, and his family was denied the justice they so deeply deserve. We are outraged, and we know we are not alone.'

Nichols’ family did not speak after the trial, instead opting to leave the courthouse.

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said the family was 'devastated' after the verdict when prosecutors spoke with them.

He went on to say that he, along with the rest of the prosecution team, disagreed with the jury’s verdict.

'We, in good faith, brought this case and I am convinced to this day that we had compelling evidence that showed that there was proof for every element of every one of the offenses that we charged,' Mulroy said in a news conference after the verdict. 'The jury took a different view. That is, of course, their right.'

During the state trial, defense attorneys for Bean, Haley and Smith said Nichols resisted arrest and was dangerous to the officers. They noted drugs and stolen credit cards were found in Nichols’ car and said he could have had abnormal strength due to drug use. Prosecutors said the officers beat Nichols to death, pointing to his severe injuries, and tried to cover it up afterward.

Meanwhile, all three former officers were convicted in federal court and face time in prison. Sentencing for the federal case was postponed until the state case reached an end. Bean and Smith were acquitted of civil rights violations but found guilty of witness tampering and face up to 20 years in federal prison.

Haley was found guilty on all counts – using excessive force, being deliberately indifferent to Nichols’ medical needs, witness tampering and conspiracy to witness tamper – but that jury found that when Haley violated Nichols’ civil rights it resulted in injury, not death. Haley could serve a life sentence in federal prison.

There is no parole in the federal system.

Two other former officers, Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr., took plea deals and pleaded guilty in the federal case to using excessive force and conspiracy to witness tamper. Mills’ plea agreement extended to the state case and he will serve both his federal and state sentences at the same time.

Martin and Mills testified during the federal trial. Mills testified during the state trial.

Nichols was pulled over in the evening hours of Jan.7, 2023. Haley and another officer initially pulled him over and pulled him from his car.

A struggle ensued, with pepper spray being used and a Taser being fired at Nichols as he ran from officers. It is unclear if the Taser made contact with him.

Another set of officers eventually caught up to Nichols, who was running toward his mother’s house. He was less than 100 yards away when he was tackled.

When more police got to the scene, officers held Nichols’ arms and hit him with a barrage of kicks, punches, baton strikes and pepper spray.

The assault lasted minutes and was captured on body cameras and a SkyCop camera. When Nichols went limp, he was handcuffed and leaned against an unmarked squad car. More than 20 minutes passed before he was put on a stretcher and taken to the hospital.

Mulroy said the guilty verdicts in federal court provided some consequences for the former officers’ actions, but the state verdict shows the need for police reform.

'If we’re going to have any silver lining from this dark cloud of both the event itself and, in my view, today’s verdict, it has to be that we need to reaffirm our commitment to police reform and to doing what we need to do to make sure that tragedies like this don’t happen again,' Mulroy said.

N’dea Yancey-Bragg writes for USA TODAY. Lucas Finton writes for the Memphis Commercial Appeal.