MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Nearly 16 months after Tyre Nichols’ brutal beating sparked nationwide protests and renewed calls for racial justice, three former Memphis police officers are headed back to court — this time before a jury pulled from outside the city where the violence took place.
Opening statements are set for Monday for Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith, who each face second-degree murder charges and other felonies, including aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression.
The three men have pleaded not guilty and already face the prospect of federal prison after they were convicted on federal charges last year.
Nichols — a 29-year-old Black man — was beaten by police after a 2023 traffic stop, an attack caught on police video that sparked national outrage.
Memphis police officers face second trial
The video showed officers pepper-spraying Nichols and hitting him with a Taser before he ran from the traffic stop. They later chased him down and beat him — kicking, punching, and striking him with a baton just steps from his home, as he called out for his mother.
Footage showed the officers hanging out, talking and laughing as Nichols struggled. He died three days later.
Rather than seating a jury in Memphis’ Shelby County, Judge James Jones Jr. ordered the trial to be moved to Hamilton County, which includes Chattanooga. He cited intense publicity that defense attorneys argued would make a fair trial impossible in Memphis.
Officers face state charges after federal convictions
The three officers already face serious consequences after being convicted in federal court. Bean and Smith were acquitted of federal civil rights charges related to excessive force and indifference to Nichols’ medical needs. Haley was acquitted of violating Nichols’ civil rights causing death but convicted of two lesser charges of violating civil rights causing bodily injury.
All three were convicted of witness tampering for attempting to cover up the assault.
Two other former officers — Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills Jr. — were also charged in Nichols’ killing but are expected to change their not guilty pleas in state court, according to lawyers in the case. Both pleaded guilty to federal charges as part of deals with prosecutors.
All five officers were fired, charged in state court, and indicted by a federal grand jury on civil rights and witness tampering charges.
Scorpion Unit disbanded as federal investigation highlights deeper issues
The five officers had been part of the now-disbanded Scorpion Unit, a specialized “crime suppression” team tasked with targeting drugs, guns, and violent offenders. It was often criticized by community advocates for using aggressive tactics against unarmed residents.
In December, the U.S. Department of Justice found that the Memphis Police Department “uses excessive force and discriminates against Black people,” even though more than half of the department’s officers and Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis are Black.
The Nichols family, alongside civil rights leaders across the country, continues to push for deep reforms to policing — pointing to Tyre Nichols’ death not as an isolated act of violence, but as part of a broader, systemic failure that has endangered Black communities for generations.
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