In the federal trial of three former Memphis policemen accused of violating Tyre Nichols’s civil rights—a 29-year-old man whose death beating was captured on camera and who also sparked demands for police reform—jury selection was set to start on Monday.
Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith all entered not guilty pleas to the allegations that they obstructed justice by interfering with witnesses and using excessive force to deprive Nichols of his rights.
In January 2023, Nichols was pulled over in his automobile, and as the police took him out, he fled. According to police footage, Nichols was apprehended by officers and given a beating in a Memphis area.
About 200 persons will be considered for selection as jurors. It is expected that the experiment would run three or four weeks, and national media will be there. The trial is anticipated to be attended by Nichols’ relatives.
On January 10, 2023, Nichols, a Black man, passed away in a hospital following three days of punches, kicks, and police baton strikes. Later that month, police footage that was made public saw five Black cops striking Nichols while he was yelling for his mother a block away from his home.
Additionally, footage showed the police chatting and mingling while Nichols sat on the ground, suffering with his wounds.
Nichols was stopped for careless driving, according to the officers, but the chief of police in Memphis has stated that there is insufficient evidence to support that allegation. Nichols was a FedEx employee and an avid skateboarder and photographer.
According to the autopsy report, Nichols was murdered and died as a result of head injuries. The study included head injuries, as well as cuts and bruises to various parts of the body.
Following Nichols’ murder, the Memphis Police Department dismissed Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and the three officers who are currently on trial for breaking departmental regulations. They had been a part of the Scorpion unit, a crime-fighting squad that was dissolved following Nichols’s passing.
The five cops were accused of second-degree murder in state court shortly after they were fired, and they entered a not guilty plea. In September 2023, a federal grand jury indicted them.
Both Martin and Mills have entered guilty pleas in federal court, and they may provide testimony throughout the trial. In state court, no trial date has been scheduled.
