Three Memphis police officers go on trial in death of Tyre Nichols

[September 11, 2024]  By Daniel Trotta

(Reuters) - Three former Memphis police officers go on trial in federal court on Wednesday on charges stemming from the January 2023 beating death of Black motorist Tyre Nichols in a case that provoked outrage and led to police reform.

Police video showed five Black officers kicked, punched, pepper-sprayed and struck Nichols with a baton on Jan. 7, 2023, as he cried out for his mother. Nichols, 29, an avid skateboarder, photographer and father of a young son, died in a hospital three days later.

A jury was selected on Tuesday and opening statements were set to follow jury instructions at 9:30 a.m. CDT (1430 GMT) on Wednesday, according to the court file.

The video shocked Americans as the case became the latest in a series of police killings of Black men to raise questions about racism and police brutality in the United States.

Two of the five officers originally charged with civil rights deprivation and witness-tampering have pleaded guilty and might be called to testify against their former colleagues.

All five were also charged with second-degree murder in Tennessee state court in a separate case that is on hold until the federal trial is completed.

The five officers, who were fired, had been detectives with the Scorpion police unit investigating street crimes. Besides disbanding Scorpion since the death of Nichols, Memphis passed police reforms such as requiring officers to use only marked vehicles for traffic stops, strengthening citizen review boards, and requiring more police data collection.

Desmond Mills and Emmitt Martin III are the two defendants who pleaded guilty. Mills agreed to a 15-year sentence and prosecutors agreed not to seek more than 40 years for Martin. Both men are scheduled to be formally sentenced later this year.

A view of a picture of Tyre Nichols during a news conference held by the family members of Nichols, the Black man who was beaten by Memphis police officers during a traffic stop and died three days later, at Mason Temple: Church of God in Christ World Headquarters, in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., January 31, 2023. REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer/File Photo

That leaves Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith facing trial. They could face life in prison if convicted.

After the assault that January night, police and fire department responders left a mortally wounded Nichols on the ground, his hands cuffed behind his back and intermittently propped against a police car, for several minutes before providing medical care, the police video showed.

In addition to the five men criminally charged, two additional police officers were fired, three more were suspended and two had internal disciplinary charges dropped. Another officer retired while being recommended for termination.

Three fire department employees were also fired and a fourth was suspended.

Nichols' family has filed a $550 million federal lawsuit against the city of Memphis, seeking damages that family attorney Ben Crump said were meant to send a message to other U.S. cities that any future police brutality of Black men would be so expensive as to encourage changes in police practices and training.

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; editing by Donna Bryson, Nick Zieminski and Leslie Adler)

[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.