Ex-Memphis police officers officers found guilty

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a comment from the U.S. Justice Department.

After about 5 hours of deliberations, a jury found one former Memphis police officer guilty of civil rights violations connected to the fatal police beating of Tyre Nichols over 20 months ago.

The jury found Demetrius Haley guilty of using excessive force, being deliberately indifferent to Nichols’ medical needs, conspiring to witness tamper and witness tampering. While Haley was found guilty on all counts, the jury found that on the first two counts ― using excessive force and being deliberately indifferent to Nichols’ medical needs ― it resulted in injury, not death, and convicted him on lesser charges.

Tadarrius Bean and Justin Smith Jr. were found guilty of witness tampering.

They were charged alongside former officers Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr.

Both Martin and Mills took plea deals — pleading guilty to using excessive force and conspiring to witness tamper — ahead of trial. Both men also testified for the prosecution at trial. Mills’ plea came with a recommended 15-year sentence by prosecutors and Martin’s came with a recommended 40-year sentence, though both will ultimately be decided by Judge Mark S. Norris.

All three convicted officers were immediately taken into custody and a hearing will be held Monday to determine if they can be released on bond before their sentencing. A sentencing hearing is set for Jan. 22.

The maximum sentence for the other three was life in federal prison based on the original charges. It’s unclear what the maximum sentence will be for Haley, given the lesser charges he was convicted of. Smith and Bean face a maximum sentence of 20 years. There is no parole in the federal system, so each defendant will serve the entirety of their sentence.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said when the officers were all found guilty of at least one charge, Nichols’ parents immediately said “Thank God.”

“Thank God all of them are going to jail for what they did to my boy,” Rodney Wells said after Norris said all three officers would be immediately taken into custody.

Keyana Dixon, Nichols’ older sister, spoke after the verdict and called it “a bittersweet day.”

Related:Former MPD officer cries on the stand and other moments from week 3 of Tyre Nichols trial

More:‘Five officers left him to die,’ prosecutors say in closing arguments of Tyre Nichols trial

“I will never get my little brother back. But to see those officers held accountable for what they did and what they put our family through, did give me some hope for the future that maybe this won’t ever happen to another family,” she said. “But I’m just so thankful, I was smiling when I saw them get taken away.”

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division thanked the trial team and the jury after the verdict and said the DOJ would “never rest in our ongoing efforts to ensure that law enforcement officers are held accountable for violating people’s civil and constitutional rights.”

“With these convictions, all five of the former officers involved in the death of Mr. Nichols have been convicted of federal felonies. Tyre Nichols should be alive today. We extend our condolences to the family and loved ones of Mr. Nichols. We hope this prosecution provides some measure of comfort as the law enforcement officers tied to his death have been held accountable,” she said.

Deliberations were quicker than the pace of the trial as a whole, which went on for nearly four weeks. Jurors were forced to weigh the testimony of 19 witnesses from the prosecution, nine witnesses from the defense, hours of footage from the incident and pages upon pages of reports that were entered into evidence.

The trial never reached a flow due to numerous objections leading to sidebar conversations between Norris and the attorneys. Multiple motions were argued throughout the trial as well, with the jury removed from the courtroom, which sometimes delayed court for hours at a time.

Poor weather from two East Coast hurricanes added to the obstacles at trial, including a shortened day to allow jurors the ability to get home safely.

What happened to Tyre Nichols?

Nichols was pulled over in the evening hours of Jan. 7, 2023. The stop was originally described as a reckless driving stop by police, but Martin — the officer who initiated the stop — said during his testimony that Nichols had sped up to beat a red light.

Martin called the SCORPION Unit radio frequency and asked for assistance as he followed Nichols, according to his testimony, saying that “he’s getting little on me,” to insinuate Nichols was fleeing from Martin. He went on to testify that this was his attempt at “escalating” the situation.

Footage released by the city, much of which was shown during trial, showed officers aggressively pulling Nichols from the car. Martin testified that both he and Haley had their guns drawn when they stopped Nichols.

Martin and Haley wrestled Nichols to the ground and began to pepper spray him. Eventually, the officers’ grip on Nichols loosened and the 29-year-old Black man was able to escape. He ran from the scene, with another former officer who was never criminally charged — Preston Hemphill — firing his Taser at Nichols. It was not clear whether or not the prongs hit Nichols, but he could be seen on video pulling a jacket off as the electricity sounded from the Taser.

Other officers found Nichols and tackled him near Castlegate Lane and Bear Creek Lane. There they punched him, held his arms, kicked him, pepper sprayed him and hit him with a baton. Officers, throughout the scrum, yelled for Nichols to “give us your hands” despite two officers holding him up by each of his arms.

Watch:‘We expect justice.’ Attorney Ben Crump talks about Tyre Nichols federal trial in Memphis

Nichols was ultimately handcuffed and pulled over to an unmarked squad car. He was placed against it and the officers at the scene laughed while recounting the arrest. In the background of a SkyCop camera, Nichols could be seen slumped over.

He was taken to St. Francis Hospital in critical condition, and medical professionals testified at trial that his heart had stopped beating for about 25 minutes.

He was placed on a ventilator and died at the hospital three days later.

This is a developing story and will be updated.