Trial for 3 former Memphis officers charged in Tyre Nichols’ death set to begin

SEPTEMBER 9, 2024:

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Jury selection is scheduled to begin in the federal trial of three former Memphis officers charged with violating the civil rights of Tyre Nichols. The 29-year-old man’s fatal beating was caught on police cameras and triggered protests and outcry for police reform. Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith have pleaded not guilty to charges that they deprived Nichols of his rights through excessive force and failure to intervene and obstructed justice through witness tampering. Nichols was pulled over in his car in January 2023. He ran from police after he was yanked out of the vehicle. Police video shows officers caught up with Nichols and repeatedly hit him. Jury selection is set to begin Monday (Sept. 9, 2024).

AUGUST 23, 2024:

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A former Tennessee police officer charged in last year’s fatal beating of Tyre Nichols intends to change his not guilty plea. Emmitt Martin is scheduled to appear in federal court Friday (Aug. 23, 2024). Martin is one of five former Memphis officers charged in Nichols’ death after he was pulled from his car and brutally beaten, then left without medical help for more than 20 minutes. The five were indicted in September on federal charges of excessive force and obstruction of justice. One officer pleaded guilty in November and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. The other three have pleaded not guilty. All five have also been charged in state court with second-degree murder.

MARCH 29, 2024:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has signed off (March 28, 2024) on the repeal of Memphis police traffic stop reforms set in place after the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols by officers just over a year ago. By enacting the legislation, the Republican governor sided with GOP lawmakers who forged ahead despite pleas from Nichols’ parents to give them a chance to find compromise. Starting immediately, the law renders some of Memphis’ ordinances null and void, including one that outlawed so-called pretextual traffic stops, such as for a broken taillight and other minor violations. Nichols’ death last January sparked outrage and calls for reforms nationally and locally.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday (March 28, 2024) signed off on the repeal of police traffic stop reforms made in Memphis after the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols by officers in January 2023, despite pleas from Nichols’ parents to GOP lawmakers and the governor to give them a chance to find compromise.

The Republican governor’s signature means the law immediately renders some of Memphis’ ordinances null and void, including one that outlawed so-called pretextual traffic stops, such as for a broken taillight and other minor violations. Lee echoed arguments from Republican lawmakers who argued Nichols’ death needed to result in accountability for officers who abuse power, not new limits on how authorities conduct traffic stops.

“I think what’s most important for us to remember is that we can give law enforcement tools, but we’ve got to hold law enforcement to a standard of using those tools appropriately, where there’s an appropriate interaction with the public,” Lee told reporters Friday, earlier this month of his decision to sign the bill. “That’s not what we understand has happened all the time, and certainly their family would attest to that.”

To date, Lee has never vetoed a piece of legislation since taking office nearly seven years ago, only occasionally letting bills become law without signing them to send a message of his concern or disapproval. He rarely bucks his political party’s wishes, and he is notably attempting to push through a contentious universal school voucher bill where he needs Republican support in order for it to pass.

Nichols’ death last January sparked outrage and calls for reforms nationally and locally. Videos showed an almost 3-minute barrage of fists, feet and baton strikes to Nichols’ face, head, front and back, as the 29-year-old Black man yelled for his mother about a block from home.

Nichols’ parents, mother RowVaughn Wells and stepfather Rodney Wells, were among the advocates who drummed up support for the Memphis city council last year to pass ordinance changes.

Many Republican elected officials in Tennessee also joined in the public outcry over Nichols’ death at the time. The month afterward, Lee even mentioned the Nichols family in his annual State of the State speech, saying “their courage, along with the compassion shown by the people of Memphis, is a picture of hope.”

Yet the majority-white Legislature has repeatedly rebuffed many Black leaders’ call for police reforms and oversight, and instead have sided with advocates who don’t want new limits on police authority.

In recent years, lawmakers have reacted similarly when they disagree with how Democrat-voting Memphis and Nashville run their cities. They have preempted local power to undo progressive policies, took more authority over local boards, and kept a hardline approach to crime in Memphis.

Nichols’ parents, in this case, said their attempts to get the bill sponsors to commit to finding some middle ground failed, leaving them and supporters in the Memphis community feeling marginalized and discouraged. Nichols’ parents said they felt misled by Rep. John Gillespie, leading them to skip one trip to Nashville when they thought he would delay the bill. Instead, House Republicans passed it without the Nichols’ parents there. Gillespie argued it was a miscommunication.

When they returned another day for the Senate vote, Sen. Brent Taylor denied their pleas to pause the bill and try to find middle ground. RowVaughn Wells was in tears after the exchange, and the couple left before the Senate passed the bill.

They also penned a letter to Lee before he ultimately signed the bill.

“After the death of our son, you generously offered your support in our pursuit of justice,” they wrote, imploring Lee to veto the bill. “This is that moment, Governor. We need your support now, more than ever.”

Five officers, who were also Black, were charged with federal civil rights violations in Nichols’ death, and second-degree murder and other criminal counts in state court. One has pleaded guilty in federal court. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating how Memphis Police Department officers use force and conduct arrests and whether the department in the majority-Black city engages in racially discriminatory policing.

Democratic lawmakers said the bill is a slap in the face to Nichols’ grieving parents and the government in majority-Black Memphis. Some also were flummoxed that state Republicans were trying to undo changes made in reaction to Nichols’ death even while federal authorities are still broadly investigating policing and race in Memphis.

MAY 2, 2023:

MEMPHIS, Tenn.. (AP) — A prosecutor says a former Memphis police officer who hit Tyre Nichols with a stun gun during a traffic stop that preceded Nichols’ brutal beating by other officers won’t be charged criminally. Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said on Tuesday (May 2, 2023) that his office did a thorough investigation of Preston Hemphill’s role in the arrest. He says officials don’t endorse Hemphill’s conduct during the stop but they don’t think criminal charges would be “appropriate.” Hemphill was fired Feb. 3 for violating policies during the Jan. 7 arrest of Nichols, who died in a hospital three days later. Five other officers have pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in Nichols’ death.

APRIL 19, 2023:

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The family of Tyre Nichols, who died after a brutal beating by five Memphis police officers, sued the officers and the city of Memphis, blaming them for his death and accusing officials of allowing a special unit’s aggressive tactics to go unchecked despite warning signs. Lawyers for Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, filed the lawsuit in federal court. The suit seeks a jury trial and financial damages. The lawsuit claims that the SCORPION unit launched by Memphis Police Director Cerelyn “CJ” Davis used “extreme intimidation, humiliation, and violence” and “disproportionately focused on and targeted young Black men,” saying Nichols was targeted because he was Black. The five officers charged with beating Nichols were members of the now disbanded unit.

MARCH 24, 2023:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A state panel says four of five former Memphis police officers charged with murder in the beating death of Tyre Nichols cannot work as law enforcement officers again in Tennessee. The Peace Officer Standards & Training Commission, or P.O.S.T., voted to decertify Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin, Justin Smith and Desmond Mills on Friday morning (March 24, 2023). The Memphis Police Department has requested the decertification of all seven former Memphis officers fired in Nichols’ Jan. 2023, death. Five of them are charged with second-degree murder. Police body cameras recorded the officers beating Nichols, propping the badly injured man in handcuffs against an unmarked police car and ignoring him as he struggles to stay upright.

MARCH 8, 2023:

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Justice Department announced Wednesday (March 8, 2023) that it will review the Memphis police department policies on use of force, de-escalation strategies and specialized units in response to the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols during an arrest. It said the review was requested by the city’s mayor and police chief. The announcement also said that in a separate effort, it will examine the use of specialized units around the country and produce a guide for police chiefs and mayors on their use. The U.S. Justice Department has previously opened a civil rights investigation into Nichols’ death.

FEBRUARY 17, 2023:

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The mother of Tyre Nichols says none of the five former Memphis, Tennessee, police officers charged with killing her son would look her in the eye in court. The former officers pleaded not guilty Friday (Feb. 17, 2023) to second-degree murder and other charges. Mother RowVaughn Wells said at a news conference after the hearing that the officers will see her at every court date “until we get justice for my son.” They were fired after a police investigation into the Jan. 7 arrest and are out on bond. The case is the latest to prompt nationwide protests and renew public discussion about police brutality.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Five former Memphis police officers pleaded not guilty Friday (Feb. 17, 2023) to second-degree murder and other charges in the violent arrest and death of Tyre Nichols, with his mother saying afterward that none of them would look her in the eye in court.

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith made their first court appearances with their lawyers before a judge in Shelby County Criminal Court. The officers were fired after an internal police investigation into the Jan. 7 arrest of Nichols, who died in a hospital three days later. His beating was caught on video.

At a news conference after the hearing, Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, said that the officers didn’t have the courage to look her in the eye, but that “they’re going to see me at every court date — every one — until we get justice for my son.”

“I feel very numb right now,” Wells said. “And I’m waiting for this nightmare basically that I’m going through right now, I’m waiting for somebody to wake me up. I know that’s not going to happen.”

The officers pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. They are all out on bond. Their next hearing was scheduled for May 1.

The Nichols case is the latest to prompt nationwide protests and renew an intense public discussion about police brutality. Nichols, 29, was Black. All five officers charged in his death also are Black.

Addressing the courtroom, Judge James Jones Jr. asked for everyone’s “continued patience” and ”continued civility,” stressing that “this case can take some time.”

“We understand that there may be some high emotions in this case, but we ask that you continue to be patient with us,” Jones said. “Everyone involved wants this case to be concluded as quickly as possible. But it’s important for you all to understand that the state of Tennessee, as well as each one of these defendants, have an absolute right to a fair trial.”

Bean’s attorney, John Keith Perry, spoke with reporters afterward, saying Bean was doing his job at that time and “never touched” Nichols. That assertion is contradicted by video footage.

Protester Casio Montez talked over Perry, saying Nichols’ death was murder: “You represent a murderer, bro.”

Blake Ballin, the attorney for Mills, said the process must be “based on the facts and the law, and not the raw emotions that our country is experiencing.” The public should be patient and cautious in judging his client, he said.

“Justice for Mr. Nichols will not be achieved at the expense of justice for Mr. Mills,” Ballin said.

Ballin also said the nation’s grief over Nichols’ death “absolutely should be channeled into demanding change in the way that we police our communities.”

“It’s also vital that we extend these demands to the way that we treat minorities and people of lower incomes in our criminal justice system,” Ballin said. “Let’s not forget that my client is a Black man in a courtroom in America.”

Lawyers for Martin and Smith did not immediately respond to attempts for comment. Haley’s lawyer declined to comment in an email.

Assistant District Attorney Paul Hagerman told reporters that “Memphis and the whole world needs to see that what’s right is done in this case, and it needs to happen sooner rather than later.”

Nichols’ mother and stepfather, Rodney Wells, were in court along with their lawyer, civil rights attorney Ben Crump.

“This is a glorious day,” Rodney Wells said at the post-hearing news conference. “This is the beginning of the process.”

Nichols was stopped by police for an alleged traffic violation and was pulled out of his car by officers who used profanity, with at least one brandishing a gun. An officer hit Nichols with a stun gun, but Nichols ran away toward his nearby home, according to video footage released by the city.

Officers who were part of a crime-suppression team known as Scorpion caught up with Nichols and punched him, kicked him and slugged him with a baton as he yelled for his mother.

After the beating, officers stood by and talked with one another as Nichols struggled with his injuries on the ground, video showed. One officer took photos of Nichols as he was propped up against an unmarked police car, video and records showed.

Nichols was taken to a hospital in an ambulance that left the site of the beating 27 minutes after emergency medical technicians arrived, authorities said.

Police said Nichols had been suspected of reckless driving, but no verified evidence of a traffic violation has emerged in public documents or in video footage. Memphis Police Director Cerelyn “CJ” Davis has said she has seen no evidence justifying the stop or the officers’ response. She disbanded the Scorpion unit, which she created in November 2021, after Nichols’ death.

One other white officer who was involved in the initial traffic stop has been fired. An additional officer who has not been identified has been suspended.

Three Memphis Fire Department employees who were present at the site of the arrest have been fired. Two Shelby County sheriff’s deputies who also were there have been suspended without pay.

Nichols’ family, their lawyers, community leaders and activists have called for changes within the Memphis Police Department on issues related to traffic stops, use of force, transparency and other policies.

Some of the relatives and lawyers have praised Davis and the department for the swiftness of their response and said it should be the standard for other investigations into police brutality.

FEBRUARY 16, 2023:

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Two sheriff’s deputies who have been suspended for five days for their role in the arrest of Tyre Nichols failed to keep their body cameras activated after they went to the location where Nichols had been beaten by five Memphis police officers, officials said late Wednesday (Feb. 15, 2023).

Shelby County Sheriff’s Office deputies Jeremy Watkins and Johntavious Bowers each violated multiple policies after they reported to the location of Nichols’ violent arrest on Jan. 7, 2023, Sheriff Floyd Bonner said in a statement.

Nichols had fled a traffic stop but was caught near his home by Memphis Police Department officers who punched him, kicked him and hit him with a baton, police video footage and other documents showed.

Video released by the city showed several law enforcement officers standing around as Nichols struggled with serious injuries while he sat on the ground, propped up against a police car. Nichols was taken to a hospital in an ambulance that left the location of the beating 27 minutes after emergency medical technicians arrived, authorities have said.

Nichols died at a hospital on Jan. 10. Five Memphis officers accused of beating Nichols have been fired and charged with second-degree murder. One other Memphis officer has been fired but not charged criminally for his role in the traffic stop that preceded the beating.

The sheriff’s office previously had said two deputies who went to the scene after Nichols was beaten had been disciplined and were under investigation. But the county law enforcement office had not divulged further details, including their names and the actions they took — or did not take.

Reports released by the sheriff’s office late Thursday showed Bowers and Watkins were suspended for five days without pay for failing to keep their body cameras and in-car video turned on while they were at the arrest location.

The deputies also did not notify dispatch or their supervisor, the reports showed. Watkins also did not report on his daily log that he went to the arrest location, according to the reports.

Bonner said the sheriff’s office does not believe that the deputies will face criminal charges.

Bowers and Watkins have been Shelby County deputies since June 2021, Bonner said. Both suspensions began Wednesday.

FEBRUARY 8, 2023:

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AP) — The officer who pulled Tyre Nichols from his car before police fatally beat him never explained why he was being stopped, newly released documents show. Emerging reports from Memphis residents suggest that was commonplace. The Tennessee Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission released documents Tuesday (Feb. 7, 2023) blasting the conduct of Demetrius Haley and four other officers as “blatantly unprofessional.” They include revelations that Haley took photographs of Nichols as he lay propped against a police car. Haley then sent the photos to other officers and a female acquaintance, the Memphis Police Department wrote in requesting that the five officers be stripped of the ability to work as police.

FEBRUARY 1, 2023:

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The family of Tyre Nichols plans to lay him to rest Wednesday (Feb. 1, 2023), three weeks after he died following a brutal beating by Memphis police after a traffic stop. In those three weeks, five officers have been fired and charged with murder, and their specialized unit was disbanded. Two more officers have been suspended. Two Memphis Fire Department emergency medical workers and a lieutenant were also fired. And more discipline could be coming. But Wednesday will be about Nichols, a 29-year-old skateboarder, father, and amateur photographer. The Rev. Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy, and civil rights attorney Ben Crump will deliver a call to action.

FILE – The screen at the Smoothie King Center honors Tyre Nichols before an NBA basketball game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Washington Wizards in New Orleans, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Nichols died after being beaten by Memphis police during a traffic stop. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton, File)

FILE – In this image taken from video released by the City of Memphis, Tyre Nichols sits leaning against a car following a brutal attack by Memphis police during a traffic stop on Jan. 7, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn. Nichols died days later. As Memphis police officers attacked Nichols, others held him down or milled about, even as he cried out in pain before his body went limp. Just like the attack on George Floyd in Minneapolis nearly three years ago, a simple intervention could have saved a life. (City of Memphis via AP, File)

FILE – In this image from video released and partially redacted by the City of Memphis, Tyre Nichols lies on the ground during a brutal attack by Memphis police officers on Jan. 7, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn. The beating and death of Nichols by members of a plainclothes anti-crime task force has renewed scrutiny on the squads often involved in a disproportionate number of use of force incidents and civilian complaints. (City of Memphis via AP, File)

This combo of images provided by the Memphis Police Department shows, from top row from left, officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, bottom row, from left, Desmond Mills, Jr. and Justin Smith. The five former Memphis police officers have been charged with second-degree murder and other crimes in the arrest and death of Tyre Nichols, a Black motorist who died three days after a confrontation with the officers during a traffic stop, records showed Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. (Memphis Police Department via AP)

JANUARY 30, 2023, UPDATE:

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis police say two more officers involved in the arrest, beating and death of Tyre Nichols have been disciplined. Five Memphis officers already had been fired and charged in the Jan. 7, 2023, arrest of Nichols, who was Black. Police said Monday (Jan. 30, 2023) that officer Preston Hemphill was relieved of duty shortly after Nichols’ Jan. 7 arrest. The department said later that another officer has been relieved of duty. In total, seven officers have been disciplined for the arrest of Nichols, who died Jan. 10. Also Monday, two Memphis Fire Department emergency medical workers and a lieutenant were fired in connection with the case.

JANUARY 30, 2023:

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A sixth Memphis Police Department officer has been disciplined for his involvement in the brutal beating and arrest of Tyre Nichols. Officer Preston Hemphill was relieved of duty shortly after the Jan. 7, 2023, arrest of Nichols, who died three days later at a hospital, Memphis police spokeswoman Karen Rudolph said. She did not disclose Hemphill’s role in the arrest. Hemphill’s lawyer, Lee Gerald, said in a statement that Hemphill was the third officer at a traffic stop that preceded the violent arrest and that he activated his body camera. But Hemphill was not at the scene where Nichols was beaten, Gerald said.

JANUARY 27, 2023, UPDATE:

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Authorities in Memphis have released video showing Black motorist Tyre Nichols being beaten by five police officers who held him down and repeatedly struck him with fists, batons and boots. The footage released Friday (Jan. 27, 2023) also shows the Black officers pummeling the 29-year-old and leaving him propped against a squad car as they fist-bump and celebrate their actions. The officers have been charged with murder in the assault that the Nichols family legal team likened to the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King. The chilling images of another Black man dying at the hands of police provoked tough questions about the nation’s policing culture.

JANUARY 27, 2023:

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The city of Memphis and the nation are bracing for the release of a police video depicting five officers viciously beating a Black man who later died. Tyre Nichols’ death prompted murder charges Thursday (Jan. 26, 2023) against the officers and outrage at the country’s latest instance of police brutality. Nichols died three days after a confrontation with the officers during a traffic stop on Jan. 7, 2023. Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy says video of the traffic stop will be released to the public sometime Friday evening. Nichols’ family and the Memphis police chief say they expect protests, but urged people to demonstrate peacefully.

JANUARY 26, 2023:

MEMPHIS, Tenn.. (AP) — Five former Memphis police officers have been charged with second-degree murder and other crimes in the arrest and death of Tyre Nichols, a Black motorist who died three days after a confrontation with the officers during a traffic stop. Shelby County Sheriff’s Office online records showed Thursday (Jan. 26, 2023) that Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills, Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith were in custody. Each is charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. Attorneys for Nichols’ family say officers beat the 29-year-old father for three minutes during the Jan. 7, 2023, stop. Nichols’ stepfather told The Associated Press he and Nichols’ mother are “fine with” the second-degree murder charge.

Trial for 3 former Memphis officers charged in Tyre Nichols’ death set to begin

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