MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP/Court TV) — Three former Memphis police officers were acquitted of state charges, including second-degree murder, in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols after he ran away from a traffic stop in 2023.
The image from video released on Jan. 27, 2023, by the City of Memphis, shows Tyre Nichols on the ground as medics arrive during a brutal attack by five Memphis police officers on Jan. 7, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn. Nichols died on Jan. 10. (City of Memphis via AP)
A jury took about 8 1/2 hours over two days to find Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith not guilty on all charges after a nine-day trial in state court in Memphis.
The three defendants still face the prospect of years in prison after they were convicted of federal charges last year.
Police video showed five officers pepper-spraying Nichols, 29, and hitting him with a Taser before he ran away from the traffic stop on Jan. 7, 2023. The officers chased down Nichols and kicked, punched and hit him with a police baton steps from his home as he called out for his mother. The video showed the officers milling about, talking and laughing as Nichols struggled.
Nichols died three days after the beating. The five officers were fired, charged in state court with murder, and indicted by a federal grand jury on civil rights and witness tampering charges.
Two other officers, Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills Jr., have agreed to plead guilty to the state charges and are not standing trial under deals with prosecutors. They also pleaded guilty in federal court, where sentencing for all five officers is pending.
The three former Memphis police officers charged in the beating death of Tyre Nichols appear in court April 28, 2025. (Court TV)
The other three officers were convicted in October of witness tampering related to the cover-up of the beating. Bean and Smith were acquitted of civil rights charges of using excessive force and being indifferent to Nichols’ serious injuries. Haley was acquitted of violating Nichols’ civil rights, causing death, but he was convicted of two lesser charges of violating his civil rights, causing bodily injury.
The five officers were part of a crime suppression team called the Scorpion Unit that has since been disbanded. The team targeted drugs, illegal guns and violent offenders, with the goal of amassing arrests, while sometimes using force against unarmed people.
TRIAL UPDATES
DAY 9 – 5/7/25
- A jury took about 8 1/2 hours over two days to find Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith not guilty on all charges after a nine-day trial in state court in Memphis.
DAY 8 – 5/6/25
- Martin Zummach, Smith’s lawyer, noted in closing arguments that credit and debit cards that did not belong to Nichols were found in his car when it was searched after the beating and said it was likely why Nichols ran from the traffic stop. Defense lawyers have argued that the fatal beating would not have taken place if Nichols had just allowed himself to be handcuffed. “This is Emmitt Martin’s and Tyre Nichols’ doing,” Zummach said.
- Stephen Leffler, Demetrius Haley’s defense attorney, said there was no indication that Haley was “doing anything other than police work” by trying to handcuff Tyre Nichols, urging jurors to consider each defendant separately.
- Assistant District Attorney Tanisha Johnson delivered the state’s rebuttal, questioning the defense’s idea of a tainted investigation and conspiring against the officers charged in the death of Nichols.
DAY 7 – 5/5/25
- In her closing argument, prosecutor Melanie Headley said the officers were criminally responsible for Nichols’ death. “It’s five officers acting together,” Headley said.
- Headley played numerous clips from the SKYCOP video and the BWC video in an effort to make her case that the video shows the jurors everything they need to know about what happened on Jan. 7, 2023.
- Nichols wasn’t resisting arrest, he was trying to survive after the defendants yanked him from his car and verbally/physically assaulted him during a traffic stop.
- The defense experts agreed that the kicks and punches by Demeterius Haley and Emmitt Smith were excessive use of force and none of the defendants did anything to stop the assault or intervene.
- WATCH: ‘Help Me’: Prosecution Plays Tyre Nichols’ Last Words For The Jury
- John Keith Perry, Bean’s lawyer, said in his closing argument that Nichols ignored commands to give officers his hands dozens of times. Bean was merely trying to handcuff Nichols and he followed his Memphis Police Department training in doing so. “Bean doesn’t do anything to punish this person,” Perry said.
DAY 6 – 5/3/25
- Defense lawyers rested their case Saturday. The three former officers did not testify in their defense.
- Police training expert Don Cameron acknowledged that kicks and punches to Nichols’ head were unnecessary and excessive.
- Cameron was called to the stand by the defense lawyer for Haley, who was at the traffic stop and arrived at the location of the beating after Martin kicked and punched Nichols in the head as Nichols was being held by Smith and Bean.
- Cameron said Nichols had not yet been handcuffed and Haley used proper force in kicking Nichols once in the arm. The veteran police trainer said Haley kicked Nichols in order to facilitate the handcuffing of Nichols by the other officers.
- However, under cross-examination by prosecutor Paul Hagerman, Cameron acknowledged that the punches and kicks by Martin to Nichols’ head were unnecessary, excessive and an example of deadly force. Officers who saw those head blows had a duty to intervene and stop the beating at that point, Cameron said.
- The prosecutor also asked Cameron about Haley’s comment to “beat that man” as he got out of his car and approached Nichols. Cameron said he believed Haley made the comment in order to get Nichols to comply with being handcuffed after Nichols repeatedly ignored expletive-laced orders to do so.
- The defense has said that the officers’ vision was impaired because of the repeated deployment of pepper spray. Martin Zummach, Smith’s lawyer, asked Cameron if officers have a duty to intervene if they don’t actually see unnecessary force being applied. “If they can’t see it, they can’t intervene,” Cameron said.
DAY 5 – 5/2/25
- Samantha Spencer, a forensic consultant, testified that Haley and Martin had DNA material on their boots after the incident.
- Martin’s right boot tested positive for blood (presumptive test)
- Martin kicked Tyre Nichols three times –
- The kicks were described as “soccer kicks” and were seen on the SKYCOP camera video
- Haley’s right boot tested positive for blood (presumptive test)
- Haley kicked Tyre Nichols one time
- Haley’s kick is seen on SKYCOP camera video
- More advanced testing was then done on the two boots:
- Spencer testified that the DNA material found on Haley’s boot came from an area that didn’t have blood on it, like Nichols’ torso or clothing.
- Because of the high amount of DNA found on Martin’s boot, it’s consistent with coming from an area where blood was present, like his face.
- Martin’s right boot tested positive for blood (presumptive test)
DAY 4 – 5/1/25
- Former MPD Preston Hemphill wrapped up his testimony:
- Martin Zammuch, Justin Smith’s Attorney
- Justin Smith’s attorney highlighted the times Smith was heard on the radio traffic between the officers and the dispatcher.
- After Hemphill used his pepper spray at the location of the 1st confrontation, Smith asked that the FD be dispatched.
- Smith is heard multiple times on the recording asking for more officers and help, and sounding distressed.
- Hemphill was the least senior of the SCORPION UNIT officers present that night, and Tadarrius Bean was the second least senior.
- John Keith Perry, Tadarrius Bean’s Attorney
- Says that during his questioning by the Department of Justice investigators, they tried to get him to change his account of hearing Emmitt Martin tell Tyre Nichols to get his hand off of his gun.
- John Keith Perry stated that the DOJ transcript of his interview contains eight pages where they tried to “browbeat” him into changing his story.
- Paul Hagerman, Deputy District Attorney
- Says he heard Demetrius Haley say to Tyre Nichols “I’m going to break your shit”
- Nichols was taken from the car forcefully and placed on the ground while the officers were yelling and threatening him.
- Agrees Tyre Nichols ran away because of the way he was treated as he was taken from the car and then pepper-sprayed
- Admitted that he’s heard on the BWC saying “I hope they stomp his ass” and that he regrets saying it
- When asked about the SKYCOP video of the beating if that is what he meant by “stomp his ass” he said no.
- Martin Zammuch, Justin Smith’s Attorney
- Forensic pathologist Dr. Jane Turner testified that Nichols’ initial CT scan on Jan. 7, 2023, didn’t show a brain hemorrhage; however, the hospital performed a second CT scan on Jan. 9, 2023, which showed the hemorrhage.
- Believes Nichols had 25 minutes of reduced oxygen levels before he was taken to the hospital, which led to his cardiac arrest and organ failure.
DAY 3 – 4/30/25
- TBI Special Agent Derek Miller testified Haley took a cellphone photo of Nichols as he sat on the ground, propped up against a police car and struggling with serious injuries, and shared that photo 11 times and had text conversations with eight people about it.
- Dr. Marco Ross, who performed Tyre Nichols’ autopsy, said he died of blunt force injuries to his head and ruled his manner of death as homicide. Dr. Ross testified that after being severely beaten, Nichols went into cardiac arrest and ultimately remained in a coma until his death.
- TBI Special Agent Charles Baker testified that Nichols’ car was searched after the beating and authorities found credit cards, debit cards and identifications that did not belong to Nichols. Officers who pulled Nichols over said they did so because he was speeding and driving recklessly, but they did not know about the items found in his car.
- Hagerman, the prosecutor, asked Baker if the discovery of the IDs and credit cards influenced how the TBI investigated the assault case.
- “Say everything in that car was stolen, it still has no bearing on the seriousness of the case I was asked to investigate,” Baker said.
- Zummach then asked Baker if it was reasonable to conclude that Nichols was resisting arrest and wanted to get away from the vehicle because he may have had “evidence of crime in his car.” “It could be,” Baker said.
- Baker also testified that mushrooms containing the hallucinogen psilocybin were found in the car. Ross, the medical examiner, testified Nichols did not have the hallucinogen in his system.
- Kelli Rogers, a resident of the Memphis suburb of Arlington, testified that her wallet containing her ID and credit cards was stolen from her car in 2022. Rogers said she was recently informed that one of her credit cards was found in the car and that she did not know Nichols.
- Former Memphis officer Preston Hemphill, who was at the traffic stop but not the location of the beating, testified that he heard Martin say “let go of my gun” after Nichols was forcibly removed from his car. It is not clear in the video whether Nichols actually tried to grab Martin’s gun. Hemphill fired his Taser at Nichols during the traffic stop. After Nichols fled, Hemphill could be heard on his body camera video saying: “I hope they stomp his ass.” Hemphill was fired from the police force but was not criminally charged.
DAY 2 – 4/29/25
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- Mills and another officer involved in the beating, Emmitt Martin, have agreed to plead guilty to the state charges and are not standing trial with their ex-colleagues under deals with prosecutors. They also pleaded guilty in federal court, where sentencing for all five officers is pending.
- Mills testified Tuesday that he regrets his failure to stop the beating.
- As Nichols was struggling with Bean and Smith, who were holding Nichols on the ground, Mills tried to pepper-spray Nichols, but he ended up spraying himself, which made him angry, he said.
- After stepping away to try to recover, Mills then walked up to Nichols and hit him three times in the arm with a police baton. Mills told prosecutor Paul Hagerman that he hit Nichols with the baton because he was angry. Martin arrived and punched and kicked Nichols in the head.
- Mills acknowledged on the stand that he had a duty to intervene to stop the beating, but didn’t.
- WATCH: Ex-Cop Desmond Mills Testifies to Beating Tyre Nichols With BatonFormer Memphis police officer Desmond Mills Jr. took the stand Tuesday as a prosecution witness.
- Under cross-examination, Mills said Nichols was actively resisting arrest and not complying with repeated orders to give officers his hands so that he could be handcuffed.
- WATCH: Ex-Cop Desmond Mills Faces Cross-Examination in Tyre Nichols Murder Trial
- Defense attorney John Keith Perry asked Mills if he would have struck Nichols with the baton if Nichols had just put his hands behind his back. Mills said no.
- Perry also asked Mills if he thought Bean and Smith were holding Nichols so that Martin could hit Nichols. Mills said he didn’t think that was the case.
- Martin Zummach, Smith’s attorney, asked Mills if an officer is safe if a suspect is not handcuffed and searched for a weapon. Mills said they were not safe in that circumstance. Nichols was not searched before he ran from the traffic stop.
- Mills said about 80% to 90% of the arrests he made involved a suspect with a hidden weapon. “Do you need to wait for somebody to produce a weapon to do something?” Zummach asked Mills. “No,” Mills said.
- Mills acknowledged that the officers were dealing with fear and exhaustion as they struggled with Nichols, and that some of the methods used by officers complied with police department policies. Those include using wrist locks and hitting Nichols with the baton.
DAY 1 – 4/28/25
- Shelby County Deputy District Attorney Paul Hagerman told the jury a medical examiner likened the blunt force trauma injuries to Tyre Nichols’ head to a car wreck.
- WATCH: Prosecution: Tyre Nichols’ Head Injury ‘Looked Like A Car Wreck’
- Hagerman said the three officers were frustrated, angry and full of adrenaline when they fatally beat Tyre Nichols after he ran away from a traffic stop in 2023.
- Hagerman said Nichols was being held by his arms by two of the officers as he was punched and kicked and hit with a police baton, which was caught on a police pole camera.
- He said the officers had a duty to stop the beating but none of them did so. They were “overcome by the moment.”
- “Nobody is going to call them monsters,” Hagerman said. “It doesn’t take monsters to kill a man.”
- In his opening statement, Bean’s attorney, John Keith Perry, said the officer responded to a call that police were looking for a man who had fled a traffic stop and had been pepper-sprayed and hit with a Taser. Bean, who was not at the initial stop, saw Nichols, turned on his body camera, and chased him down, said Perry.
- WATCH: Tadarrius Bean’s Attorney: Officers Were ‘Trying To Do Their Job’
- Perry said Nichols failed to follow orders to give officers his hands so that he could be handcuffed. He said the situation became “high risk” when Nichols continued driving for about 2 miles (3.2 km) after one of the officers turned on his vehicle’s blue lights in an attempt to stop Nichols for speeding.
- “He was actually resisting arrest the whole time,” Perry said, adding that the officers just “wanted to do their job effectively.”
- Michael Stengel, Haley’s lawyer, told the jury that Haley kicked Nichols once in the upper arm, but he did not break police department policies in doing so. Haley engaged in policing that evening that was “ugly” and “dirty,” but he did not commit a crime, Stengel said.
- Both Smith and Haley called for medical aid the night of the beating, their lawyers said.
- Justin Smith’s attorney, Martin Zummach, described Smith as a” kind and gentle” person who always wanted to be a police officer. He pointed the blame at Emmitt Martin, who punched Nichols multiple times and “crushed the brain” of Nichols.
- RowVaughn Wells, the mother of Tyre Nichols, was the first witness to take the stand.
- Wells described seeing her son unresponsive at the hospital hours after he was beaten just outside their home.
- Said she arrived believing Nichols had only been pepper-sprayed and hit with a taser.
- Wells was not cross-examined.
- WATCH: Tyre Nichols’ Mother When Told Son Was Dead: ‘I Just Lost It, I lost It’
