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MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE - JANUARY 28: Demonstrators protest the death of Tyre Nichols on January 28, 2023 in Memphis, Tennessee. The release of a video depicting the fatal beating of Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, sparked protests in cities throughout the country. Nichols was violently beaten for three minutes and killed by Memphis police officers earlier this month after a traffic stop. Five Black Memphis Police officers have been fired after an internal investigation found them to be “directly responsible” for the beating and have been charged with “second-degree murder, aggravated assault, two charges of aggravated kidnapping, two charges of official misconduct and one charge of official oppression.” (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE - 28 JANUARY 2023: Demonstrators protest the death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee. The release of a video depicting the fatal beating of Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, sparked protests in cities throughout the United States. Nichols was violently beaten for 3 minutes and killed by Memphis police officers earlier this month after a traffic stop. Five Black Memphis Police officers have been fired after an internal investigation found them to be “directly responsible” for the beating and have been charged with “second-degree murder, aggravated assault, two charges of aggravated kidnapping, two charges of official misconduct and one charge of official oppression.” (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Federal Jury Convicts Three Former Memphis Police Officers on Charges Related to Death of Tyre Nichols

A U.S. federal jury found three former Memphis Police Department officers guilty of witness tampering on Thursday in a case connected to the death of Tyre Nichols last January in Tennessee.

The jury convicted Demetrius Haley, Tadarrius Bean, and Justin Smith for their efforts to cover up the use of excessive force that resulted in the death of Nichols following a traffic stop in January 2023. The jury also convicted Haley of violating Nichols’s civil rights causing bodily injury—acquitting him of a greater charge of violating Nichols’s civil rights to cause his death.

Two other former Memphis police officers, Emmit Martin and Desmond Mills, Jr., previously pled guilty to conspiracy and using unreasonable force against Nichols. Both testified against the other officers during the trial, which lasted four weeks.

Haley, Bean, and Smith were immediately taken into custody, and a judge has scheduled a hearing for Monday to determine if they can be released before sentencing, according to the Associated Press. All three face sentences of up to 20 years in prison, and Haley faces an additional 10 years in prison for the civil rights violation. Their sentencings are scheduled for January 2025.

“Today, justice has prevailed for Tyre Nichols and his family,” said Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, civil rights attorneys representing Nichols’s family, in a statement. “The guilty verdicts reached today send a powerful message that law enforcement officers who commit crimes will be held accountable under the law.

“Tyre’s family is relieved that all three officers were found guilty and taken into custody for their loved one’s death. Tyre should be alive today, and while nothing can bring him back, today’s guilty verdicts bring a measure of accountability for his senseless and tragic death.”

In its case, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) established that Martin initiated the traffic stop involving Nichols on 7 January 2023. Haley and another police officer then arrived on the scene, where Nichols was on the ground. Haley then pepper-sprayed Nichols and another officer attempted to tase him—which caused Nichols to flee the area on foot.

Bean and Mills then responded, and Bean tackled Nichols. Martin also arrived on scene and kicked Nichols in the head twice. Nichols was then held down while Mills pepper sprayed him and struck him with his baton. Haley and Martin also kicked Nichols during the incident before placing him in handcuffs, dragging him to sit against a police vehicle, and failing to render any medical aid before Memphis Fire Department first responders and EMTs arrived on scene.

“Despite knowing that Nichols had been injured by the officers’ kicks, punches, and baton strikes, and was at substantial risk of serious harm if those injuries went untreated, Haley willfully failed to inform responding emergency medical personnel of the blows suffered by Nichols,” the DOJ said in a press release. “Nichols’s condition deteriorated, and he was unable to communicate or sit upright. Nichols was eventually transported to a hospital, where he died three days later.”

Following an autopsy, the chief medical examiner ruled Nichols’s death a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head.

“A medical emergency responder testified that had they been told that Nichols’ injuries were caused by strikes to the head, they would have significantly altered their course of care,” according to the DOJ. “Nichols’s treating physicians testified that patients like Nichols who suffer from traumatic brain injury require immediate care and that a delay of even a few minutes of receiving appropriate care can cause death.”

After the assault and arrest, the five officers omitted material information and provided false information about what happened to the detective responsible for writing the incident report. They claimed that Nichols had actively resisted arrest, including individual officers saying Nichols grabbed Smith’s vest and duty belt and that Nichols lifted officers into the air. They also failed to share that they had punched Nichols repeatedly, kicked him, or struck him in the head.

Omitting this information, along with failing to provide medical care to Nichols, were both violations of Memphis Police Department policy. Both Mills and Martin identified these violations as part of their testimony.

The Memphis Police Department fired all five officers involved in the incident following an internal investigation that found them responsible for the beating, and state charges being filed for second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression.

“A basic principle for our system of justice is that there is—and there can only be—one rule of law,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Reagan Fondren for the Western District of Tennessee in a statement. “Law enforcement officers must be held to the same rules as the citizens they’re sworn to protect.”

The five former officers still face state-level charges for second-degree murder. The date for that trial has not been set.

Meanwhile, the DOJ is conducting a separate review of the City of Memphis and the Memphis Police Department’s use of force, de-escalation strategies, and specialized units. The five officers involved in the incident that led to Nichols’s death were part of the Memphis Police Department’s Scorpion street crime unit.

“The Justice Department is launching this investigation to examine serious allegations that the City of Memphis and the Memphis Police Department engage in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional conduct and discriminatory policing based on race, including a dangerously aggressive approach to traffic enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in July 2023 when the review was initiated.

The DOJ has conducted similar reviews in at least nine U.S. jurisdictions during the Biden administration, including: Phoenix, Arizona; Louisiana State Police; Louisville, Kentucky; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Mount Vernon, New York; New York City Police Department’s Special Victims Division; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Worcester, Massachusetts.

 

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