UPDATED: May 7, 2025 4:45 p.m. EST
Three ex-Memphis cops were acquitted of state charges Wednesday in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols.
According to AP, after 8 1/2 hours of deliberations, the jury found Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith not guilty on all charges, including second-degree murder.
Civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci called the verdict a “devastating miscarriage of justice.”
“The world watched as Tyre Nichols was beaten to death by those sworn to protect and serve, Crump and Romanucci said in a statement. “That brutal, inhumane assault was captured on video, yet the officers responsible were acquitted.”
They continued, “Tyre’s life was stolen, and his family was denied the justice they so deeply deserve. We are outraged, and we know we are not alone.”
“We thank the Memphis community and people across the nation who have stood by Tyre’s family, lifted their voices, and demanded accountability. Your solidarity has been a beacon of hope in this painful journey. We remain fiercely committed to civil justice and ask for your continued support as we press forward with the civil trial and push for meaningful, lasting reforms needed to stop the cycle of police brutality. Let this be a rallying cry: we must confront the broken systems that empowered this injustice and demand the change our nation –– and Tyre’s legacy –– deserves.”
Jury Deliberates Fate Of Ex-Cops Charged In Black Man’s Death
According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the 12-person jury began deliberations on Tuesday after closing arguments were presented in the trial of Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith.
All three ex-officers pleaded not guilty to state charges, including second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, and official misconduct.
They were convicted of federal charges last year.
Former EMT Says He’d Have ‘Done A Lot Differently’ If Told Of Head Trauma
Former EMT Robert Long testified this week that the officers who beat Tyre Nichols to death never told him about his head trauma when he arrived on the scene.
During a cross-examination, Deputy District Attorney Paul Hagerman questioned Long about the incident. According to the Commercial Appeal, Long called the scene the “most chaotic” he had been on.
Hagerman also questioned Long about whether he was told that Nichols could have had brain damage from the officers’ beating on him.
“If you had been told he had received devastating head blows, would it have changed how you provided care for him (Nichols)?” Hagerman asked.
“Yes, sir,” Long said.
When explaining how his care would have been different, Long told the court he would have placed a brace on Nichols to prevent further damage. He also said he asked officers to uncuff Nichols, but they refused.
Defense attorneys then asked Long if the neck brace would have been his only change and he responded that he would have “done a lot differently.”
St. Louis forensic pathologist, Dr. Jane Turner, also testified, saying Nichols’ cause of death came from his beating.
From Commercial Appeal:Turner said Nichols was assaulted and received blows to the head, which made him unsteady on his feet. He also exhibited symptoms of shock when taken to the hospital, she said.
“There was no evidence of injury to his brain, no fractures or bleeding in the brain, but clinically he was suffering from” a type of brain illness and seizure, Turner said.
She also said she reviewed Dr. Marco Ross’ autopsy report, which showed bleeding within Nichols’ brain. From that, she concluded that the bleeding must have begun after the first CT scan and was not from the assault.
“They develop later because, when there’s an attack on the brain, adrenaline can cause high blood pressure â which he did have,” Turner said.
Despite that, she agreed with Ross’ ruling that Nichols died of blunt force trauma to the head.
Turner added that Nichols’ blood pressure could have changed substantially from the “nearly 25 minutes” that his heart stopped during the drive to the hospital.
Assistant District Attorney Melanie Headley only had one question for Turner: “The beating Mr. Nichols received is what killed him, yes?”
“The hit to the head, yes,” Turner replied.
Ex-Memphis Cop Says He Regrets Not Stopping Tyre Nichols Beating
An ex-officer involved in the beating of Tyre Nichols expressed regret for not intervening during the horrific assault that resulted in the young Black man’s death.
During testimony at the start of the trial this week, former Memphis officer Desmond Mills Jr. took the stand and acknowledged he had a duty to stop the beating but failed to do so, according to ABC News.
“Do you regret that?” the prosecutor asked.
“Yes,” Mills replied.
According to ABC News, Mills and ex-officer Emmitt Martin pleaded guilty and are not standing trial alongside their former colleagues under agreements with prosecutors.
Mills took the stand as a witness for the prosecution, agreeing to testify against ex-officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith.
Defense attorneys later tried to refute claims that the officers used unnecessary force during the beating death of Nichols.
From ABC News:
Under cross-examination, Mills said Nichols was actively resisting arrest and not complying with repeated orders to give officers his hands so that he could be handcuffed.
Defense attorney John Keith Perry asked Mills if he would have struck Nichols with the baton if Nichols had just put his hands behind his back. Mills said no.
Perry also asked Mills if he thought Bean and Smith were holding Nichols so that Martin could hit Nichols. Mills said he didn’t think that was the case.
Defense attorneys then tried to paint Nichols as the aggressor.
“That guy was whipping y’all’s tail, wasn’t he?” Martin Zummach, Smith’s attorney, asked Mills.
Mills said yes, but later admitted that Nicols never punched or kicked officers.
Civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, who represent the family of Tyre Nichols, told NewsOne that the trial was an important step in getting justice for Tyre Nichols and his family.
“As the state trial begins for the former Memphis police officers charged in the brutal killing of Tyre Nichols, we are reminded of the profound pain and loss his family continues to endure. This trial marks a critical step in the pursuit of justice for Tyre, whose life was senselessly taken in an act of unconscionable violence,” said the legal team in a statement.
“We stand in solidarity with Tyre’s family and the Memphis community as this legal process unfolds, and we will continue to advocate for transparency, accountability, and meaningful reform to prevent such tragedies in the future.”
In 2024, the mother of Tyre Nichols, RowVaughn Wells, sued the city, claiming the Memphis Police Scorpion Unit used “seething aggression and unjustified force” against Tyre Nichols when they viciously attacked him after pulling him over for an alleged traffic violation back in January 2023.
The $550 million federal lawsuit names the city of Memphis, Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis, and 10 current and former city employees.
Earlier this year, the civil lawsuit trial date was reset from Jan. 3, 2025, to July 13, 2026.
In 2024, during the federal trial, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith were all convicted of witness tampering for trying to cover up the deadly beating of Tyre Nichols.
Bean and Smith were acquitted of violating the 29-year-old’s civil rights. Haley was also found not guilty of violating Nichols’ civil rights, but he was convicted of violating Nichols’ civil rights, causing bodily injury, the latter of which carries a much less harsh penalty than the former. Bean and Smith were found not guilty of a conspiracy to witness-tampering charge, for which Bean was convicted, the Associated Press reported.
What happened to Tyre Nichols?
Nichols, a father to a young son, died Jan. 10, 2023, three days after he was hospitalized from injuries sustained during a violent arrest for the alleged offense of reckless driving. Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Justin Smith, Emmitt Martin III, and Tadarrius Bean were shown on the bodycam video approaching Nichols’ car on the night of Jan. 7, aggressively ordering him out without disclosing a reason for doing so. Nichols was thrown to the ground and pepper-sprayed and assaulted before he was able to get up and run for his life.
When officers located Nichols a little while later, they took out their apparent anger on him by taking turns beating and kicking him, including multiple blows to his face for minutes at a time.
The results from an independent preliminary autopsy showed Nichols “suffered extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating.”
Nichols’ mother said the video is evidence that the Memphis Police Department “murdered” her son.
Nichols’ older brother likened the death to Emmett Till.
“Knowing the history of police interactions with the Black community throughout time, these men took a position of power and instead of doing something to better the future and honor the past, they became no better than the days of Emmett Till,” Jamal Dupree said in a joint statement with friend Angelina Paxton. “They have let us all down. Justice will be served to them.”
Crump said the officers treated Nichols like “a human piñata” and compared the police violence to the infamous Rodney King beating in 1991.
A Memphis grand jury subsequently indicted the officers on charges of second-degree murder, official misconduct, official oppression and aggravated kidnapping despite calls for charges of first-degree murder.
In addition, three fire department workers were also fired, but not criminally charged, for neglecting to render aid to Nichols. Several other police personnel have been disciplined for their roles, as well, but not fired.
The police violence prompted the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct an external review of the Memphis Police Department.
The Memphis district attorney’s office reviewed around 100 cases shared between former cops, with at least 30 of them getting dismissed and around a dozen having charges reduced.
SEE ALSO:
Tyre Nichols Family Seeks Justice: $550M Lawsuit Heads To Memphis Court
Ex-Memphis Cops Who Beat Tyre Nichols To Death Found Not Guilty Of Harshest Charges
