Jury gave a mixed verdict on Thursday against three former Memphis police officers who were involved in the fatal beating. Tyr 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 charges.
Tadarrius Beane, Justin Smith and Demetrius Haley were members of Memphis. SCORPION unit has since disbanded. They were part of a group of five officers who beat Nichols after a traffic stop in January 2023. Nichols died from his injuries several days later. All five former officers involved in the case face criminal charges. state charges of second degree murderalthough two officers who were not in court Thursday agreed to plead guilty.
When footage of Nichols being beaten by police was released, it caused shock and led to widespread protests. Georgia Law professor Anthony Michael Kreis said the body camera footage shows:depraved indifference to human lifeand said the beating was “nothing less than an extrajudicial execution.”
In Thursday's ruling, Bean and Smith were acquitted of federal charges of violating Nichols' civil rights resulting in death. Haley was found guilty of a lesser charge of civil rights violation causing bodily injury. Hayley is known sent a photo of Nichols after beating several people.
Bean, Smith and Haley face up to 20 years in prison on federal witness tampering charges. A trial date for their state murder cases has not yet been set.
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