Three former Memphis police officers were convicted of witness tampering in the fatal beating of a motorist in a case that sparked national protests and calls for broad changes in policing.
Tire Nichols died on January 10, 2023, three days after the beating following a traffic stop.
Jurors deliberated for about six hours before returning with a mixed verdict for Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith.
All of them were found guilty of at least one charge, but Bean and Smith were acquitted of civil rights charges.
Haley was acquitted of violating Mr. Nichols’ civil rights and causing his death, but convicted of the lesser charge of violating his civil rights and causing bodily injury.
The witness tampering charges carry possible sentences of up to 20 years in prison.
The five agents were part of the Scorpion Unit, which searched for drugs, illegal weapons and violent criminals. It was disbanded after Nichols’ death.
Demetrius Haley was convicted of witness tampering and acquitted of violating Nichols’ civil rights and causing his death.
Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean were also convicted of witness tampering and acquitted of civil rights charges.
Five officers were indicted last year, but two pleaded guilty and testified against members of their former crime suppression unit, eliminating any defense strategy that would have depended on them sticking together.
Prosecutor Kathryn Gilbert told jurors that the officers wanted to punish Nichols for fleeing a traffic stop and that they thought they could get away with it.
She argued that the beating reflected a common police practice that officers refer to as “street tax” or “career 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 was following department policies.
Throughout the trial, jurors repeatedly watched clips of graphic images. police video of the beating and traffic stop that preceded it.
Tire Nichols, 29, died in the hospital on Jan. 10, three days after a traffic stop that left him seriously injured.
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 are also black, punched, kicked and hit him a block from his house while he called his mother.
While holding Nichols, the officers said “hit him” and “hit 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 that Nichols, the father of a now 7-year-old boy, died from blunt force trauma to the head. The report describes brain injuries, cuts and bruises to the head and other parts of the body.
The other two officers, Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills Jr., pleaded guilty to depriving Nichols of his civil rights and testified before prosecutors.
Haley, Bean and Smith had pleaded not guilty to federal charges of excessive force, failure to intervene and obstruction of justice through witness tampering.
Defense attorneys attempted to portray Martin as the primary aggressor. They also suggested, without evidence, that Nichols might have been on drugs, something Christian called “shameful.” The autopsy report showed only small amounts of alcohol and marijuana in his system.
The five agents were part of the Scorpion Unit, which searched for drugs, illegal weapons and violent criminals. It was disbanded after Nichols’ death.
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. pleaded guilty during a hearing in federal court in Memphis on Thursday.
After the beating, officers did not tell medical professionals at the scene or at the hospital that they had punched and kicked Nichols in the head, witnesses said. They also failed to inform their supervisor at the scene or write on required forms about the amount of force used, prosecutors argued.
Martin testified that Nichols was not a threat to the officers.
Martin’s testimony provided a glimpse into the culture of the Memphis Police Department, which the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating.
Martin discussed an understanding among members of the Scorpion Unit not to report 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 pressured to make arrests to accumulate “stats” so he could stay on the street with the unit.
The five officers were also charged with second-degree murder in state court, where they pleaded not guilty.
Mills and Martin are expected to change their pleas. No trial date has been set in state court.
