by Opening statements were expected on Wednesday in the federal trial against three former Memphis police officers accused of federal civil rights violations in connection with the January 2023 beating and death of Tyre Nichols.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys will address a jury for the first time in the case over Nichols’ death, which was captured on police body cameras and has intensified calls for police reform in the U.S. Prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed Tuesday to select 12 jurors and four alternates from a pool of 200 candidates. The jury will consist of eight women and eight men, CBS affiliate WREG reported, which said four women are white, four women are Black, two men are Black, two men are Asian and four men are white.
The process is expected to take three to four weeks.
Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith have pleaded not guilty to charges that they deprived 29-year-old Nichols of his rights by excessive force and failure to intervene, and obstruction of justice through witness tampering. Two others, Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr., have already pleaded guilty to federal charges and could testify against their former colleagues.
Nichols, who was Black, died in a hospital on Jan. 10, 2023, three days after he was kicked, punched and beaten with a police baton following a traffic stop. Police video released that month showed the five officers, who are also Black, beating Nichols as he screamed for his mother a block from his home.
Officers said Nichols was pulled over for reckless driving, but the Memphis police chief said there was no evidence to support that claim.
Police video released Memphis officials showed police pulling Nichols from his vehicle after apprehending him, and after an initial struggle, Nichols is seen breaking free and running from officers. Nichols is captured, then held down and beaten by five officers at an intersection. The footage also showed the officers walking around and talking to each other as Nichols sat on the ground struggling with his injuries.
An autopsy report found that Nichols had died from blows to the head and that the cause of death was homicide. The report described brain injuries and cuts and bruises to the head and other areas.
Nichols worked for FedEx and enjoyed skateboarding and photography. The city of Sacramento, where Nichols grew up, called a skate park in his honor. “Tyre fell in love with skateboarding at a young age and it didn’t take long for it to become a part of his lifestyle,” the resolution approved by the city council said. He had a tattoo of his mother’s name on his arm and was the father of a 4 year old boy.
“The family of Tyre Nichols has been praying for justice and accountability since the beginning of this tragedy,” Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, the civil rights attorneys representing the Nichols family, said in a statement Wednesday. “Now that the jury has been selected, they are praying that the jury will gather all the evidence and deliver justice for Tyre.”
All five officers belonged to a crime fighting team called the Scorpion UnitThey were all fired for violating Memphis Police Department policy following Nichols’ death, and the unit was disbanded.
They were also charged with second-degree murder in state courtwhere they pleaded not guilty, though Mills and Martin are expected to change their pleas. No trial date has been set in state court.
On Monday, the judge read a list of potential witnesses, including Martin and Mills, as well as two other former officers. Preston Hemphill fired his stun gun at the scene of the traffic stop but did not follow Nichols to the scene where other officers were beating him. Hemphill was fired. Dewayne Smith, the supervising lieutenant who arrived at the scene after the beating, retired rather than be fired.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee told reporters Tuesday that Nichols’ death “should never have happened,” but that “steps have been taken to improve conditions in the city of Memphis and with the Memphis Police Department.”
“That family will be forever changed by that loss,” the Republican said when asked directly about the trial. “And we talk a lot about redemption. And what we have to hope for is that the redemption that comes with justice will be carried out here in this case.”
Earlier this year, Lee and Republican lawmakers clashed with Nichols’ mother and stepfather when the state repealed Memphis police reforms enacted after their son’s death. One of the city ordinances that was repealed prohibited so-called pretext traffic stops, such as for broken taillights and other minor violations.
