A US ju umpire acquitted three former police officers in the controversial be-hit of Tyre Nichols, his 29-year-old father, who was killed after a traffic stop in Memphis, Tennessee.
On Wednesday, former police officers Tadarius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith were found not guilty of state-level cases that included charges of second-degree murder, aggravation, inducement, temptation, official misconduct and official repression.
This was their second criminal trial after facing federal charges for Nichols’ death.
In that case, the three officers were acquitted of the most serious charges they faced, but they were found to have committed a crime of tampering with an eyewitness who allegedly tried to hide the assault.
There were a total of five police officers in the murder of Nichols on January 7, 2023. As Beat’s video went viral online, Nichols’ death rekindled debates over law enforcement violence and excessive policy in the black community.
Following the verdict, Memphis District Attorney Steve Mulroy told reporters that Nichols’ family was “devastated” and “enthusiastic.”
“Given the evidence, you can understand why they’re furious,” Mulroy said.
“Given the overwhelming evidence we presented, did I be surprised that there was no single conviction for either counting or comprehensive crimes? “Do you have an explanation? No.”
All five police officers involved in the assault are members of the Memphis Police Station Scorpion squad, and are now abolished forces that focus on alleged crime hotspots in the city. The protests after Nichols’ death led to the disbandment.
On the day of his murder, Nichols was handed over for allegedly driving recklessly, but prosecutors have questioned the motive, pointing out that police body cameras do not show evidence of fraud.
The officer pulled Nichols out of his car and chased him while he was on the ground. Nichols tried to escape. He stumbles across a neighborhood in a residential area not too far from where his mother lived, where five police officers wrestled him to the ground, kicking, punching him with a baton.
The camera captured Nichols and cried out to his mother for help. He passed away three days later in the hospital. An autopsy identified his cause of death as trauma from blunt force to the head.
Two police officers involved – Desmond Mills JR and Emmit Martin avoided trial by attacking a deal with federal prosecutors in exchange for a guilty plea. The two reportedly filed a plea agreement in relation to the state’s charges.
Wednesday’s verdict was the culmination of a nine-day trial against three other officers.
The three defense teams tried to shift responsibility to other officers for the majority of the violence. Nichols also resisted arrest and accused him of not following police orders, causing officers to fear their safety.
“This is what Emmitt Martin and Tyre Nichols are doing,” said Martin Zumach, defense attorney for Smith, one of the three officers.
Zummach also claimed that a non-Nichols credit and debit card were found in his car after his assault. He said it could explain to the ju umpire Nichols’ decision to escape the scene.
However, the prosecutors in the case claimed that Nichols had escaped from his fear of life. They also said the officers had a responsibility to stop their heartbeat, which caused tears and bleeding in Nichols’ brain.
Videos of the assault were also shown to the ju judges from various angles as prosecutors tried to convey the violence of Nichols’ final moments.
The trial saw a seven-day hearing and a two-day ju court deliberation, and took place in Hamilton County, the white area of the majority of Tennessee. The judge had previously ordered the court proceedings to be moved from Shelby County, where Memphis resides.
Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who represents the Nichols family, issued a statement after denounced the results after Wednesday’s decision.
“Today’s verdict is a catastrophic miscarriage of justice,” the statement reads. “I was watching the world where I saw Tyre Nichols being sworn in and beaten to death by those sworn in to serve.”