Tyre Nichols: Verdict reached in case against officers involved in fatal beating

Memphis, Tennessee - Three former Memphis police officers were found not guilty of all charges Wednesday in the beating death of a Black driver that sparked calls for police reform, local media reported.

Three former Memphis police officers were found not guilty of all charges Wednesday in the beating death of Tyre Nichols, which was caught on video.
Three former Memphis police officers were found not guilty of all charges Wednesday in the beating death of Tyre Nichols, which was caught on video.  © Collage: IMAGO / UPI Photo & SETH HERALD / AFP

Five Black police officers were charged in connection with the January 2023 death of Tyre Nichols (29), who was kicked, punched, tased, and pepper-sprayed.

The five officers, members of a since-disbanded special anti-crime squad called the Scorpion Unit, were captured on video beating Nichols during a traffic stop near his home in the Tennessee city of Memphis.

He died at a hospital three days later.

Tulsi Gabbard under fire for using same "easily cracked" password for years
Politicians Tulsi Gabbard under fire for using same "easily cracked" password for years

Two of the officers pleaded guilty to state and federal charges while the three others – Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith – chose to go to trial.

A jury acquitted Bean, Haley, and Smith on Wednesday of all of the state charges they faced, including the most serious charge of second-degree murder, the Commercial Appeal reported.

The Memphis newspaper said the mostly white jury deliberated for eight and a half hours before delivering the not guilty verdict.

Bean, Haley, and Smith have already been convicted of federal charges, including witness tampering, and could face up to 20 years in prison. Haley was also convicted of using excessive force.

Sentencing was delayed until the conclusion of the state trial.

The two other former Memphis police officers, Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills, reached plea agreements in the state and federal cases in which they pleaded guilty to using excessive force and witness tampering.

Then-vice president Kamala Harris attended Nichols's funeral, and his relatives were invited to President Joe Biden's State of the Union address in Washington.

Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO / UPI Photo & SETH HERALD / AFP

More on Black Lives Matter: