Jury gave a mixed verdict For the three former Memphis police officers involved in Thursday’s fatal beating Tire Nichols In 2023. Two of the three officers were acquitted of civil rights charges stemming from Nichols’ death, but all three were convicted of witness tampering.
Tadarrius Bean, Justin Smith and Demetrius Haley were all members of Memphis. After the SCORPION division was abolished. They were part of a group of five officers who beat Nichols after a traffic stop in January 2023. Nichols died of his injuries a few days later. All five former officers faced each other state charge of second-degree murderThe two officers, who were not in court Thursday, agreed to plead guilty.
When footage of officers beating Nichols went viral, it sparked widespread protests. Anthony Michael Kreis, a law professor at Georgia State, said body camera footage “indifference to human life” and said the beating was “nothing more than an extrajudicial execution”.
In Thursday’s ruling, Bean and Smith were acquitted of federal charges of violating Nichols’ civil rights and causing death. Haley was convicted of a lesser charge of civil rights violation causing injury. Haley is famous Sent a picture of Nichols after beating up a few people.
Bean, Smith and Haley face up to 20 years in prison on federal witness tampering charges. No date has been set for their state murder cases.
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