MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Jurors deliberated for a second day on Wednesday in the trial of three former Memphis police officers charged with murder in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols.
The 12-person jury began deliberating Tuesday in the trial of Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith, who have pleaded not guilty to state charges including second-degree murder. They already face the possibility of years in prison after they were convicted of federal charges last year.
Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, fled a Jan. 7, 2023, traffic stop after he was yanked out of his car, pepper-sprayed and hit with a Taser. Five officers who are also Black caught up with him and punched, kicked and hit Nichols with a police baton, struggling to handcuff him as he called out for his mother near his home.
Footage of the beating captured by a police pole camera also showed the officers milling about, talking and laughing as Nichols struggled. His death led to nationwide protests, calls for police reforms in the U.S., and intense scrutiny of police in Memphis, a majority-Black city.
The jury for the state trial was chosen in Hamilton County, which includes Chattanooga, after Judge James Jones Jr. ordered the case be heard from people outside of Shelby County, which includes Memphis. Defense lawyers for the officers had argued that intense publicity made seating a fair jury difficult.
The officers are charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. Jurors can also decide to convict on lesser charges.
Prosecutors have argued that the officers used excessive force in trying to handcuff Nichols and were criminally responsible for each others’ actions. The officers also had a duty to intervene and stop the beating and tell medical personnel that Nichols had been struck in the head, but they failed to do so, prosecutors said.
Former Memphis officers Desmond Mills Jr. and Emmitt Martin also were charged in the case. They have agreed to plead guilty to the state charges and are not standing trial. They already pleaded guilty in federal court, where sentencing for all five officers is pending.
During the trial, defense attorneys refuted accusations that the officers used unnecessary force to subdue Nichols. They argued that Nichols was actively resisting arrest by running away and failing to give his hands to officers so that he could be handcuffed. They also say their use of force complied with police department policies.
Mills testified that he regrets his failure to stop the beating, which led to Nichols’ death three days later from blunt-force trauma. Dr. Marco Ross, the medical examiner who performed the autopsy, testified that Nichols suffered tears and bleeding in the brain.
Defense attorneys have said the officer who acted with the most violence was Martin, who kicked and punched Nichols several times in the head but is not standing trial.
Mills said Nichols was actively resisting arrest and not complying with orders to present his hands to be cuffed. But Mills also admitted Nichols never punched or kicked any officers.
The five officers were part of a crime suppression team called the Scorpion Unit that was disbanded after Nichols’ death. The team targeted drugs, illegal guns and violent offenders to amass arrests, while sometimes using force against unarmed people
The trial comes months after the U.S. Justice Department said in December that a 17-month investigation found that the Memphis Police Department uses excessive force and discriminates against Black people.
