Mixed Verdict for Memphis Officers     10/04 06:09

   

   MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Three former Memphis police officers were convicted 
Thursday in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, but were acquitted of the 
harshest charges they faced for a death that sparked national protests and 
calls for broad changes in policing.

   Jurors deliberated for about six hours before coming back with the mixed 
verdict for Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith.

   All were convicted of witness tampering related to the cover-up of the 
beating, but Bean and Smith were acquitted of civil rights charges. Haley was 
acquitted of violating Nichols' civil rights causing death, but convicted of 
the lesser charge of violating his civil rights causing bodily injury. He was 
also convicted of a conspiracy to witness tamper charge that the others were 
acquitted of.

   The court remained silent as the verdicts were read.

   The judge ordered all three officers to be taken into custody. He planned to 
hold a hearing Monday to hear from the defense lawyers about releasing them 
pending sentencing. The witness tampering charges carry possible sentences of 
up to 20 years in prison. The civil rights charge against Haley carries up to 
10 years in prison. They had faced up to life in prison if convicted on the 
harshest charges.

   The verdict marked a partial setback for prosecutors who were unable to land 
a conviction for civil rights violations for two officers who played an active 
role in the encounter. Jurors repeatedly watched graphic clips from police 
video that showed the officers punch and kick Nichols and hit him with a police 
baton just steps from his home, as the 29-year-old called out for his mother.

   In a statement, Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke, who oversees 
the Justice Department's civil rights division, said "Tyre Nichols should be 
alive today."

   "We hope this prosecution provides some measure of comfort as the law 
enforcement officers tied to his death have been held accountable," Clarke said.

   Bean and Smith were seen on video wrestling with Nichols and holding his 
arms, while also hitting him, but the jury was not convinced those actions 
amounted to civil rights violations. An FBI agent said Smith told him he 
punched Nichols, but defense lawyers argued Bean and Smith were merely slapping 
Nichols' hands away as they tried to put handcuffs on him.

   Rodney Wells, Nichols' stepfather, told The Associated Press outside the 
courtroom: "A win is a win. They're all going to jail."

   Five officers were charged in Nichols' death, but two pleaded guilty and 
testified against members of their old crime suppression unit.

   Prosecutors argued that Nichols was beaten for running from a traffic stop, 
saying it was part of a common police practice referred to in officer slang as 
a "street tax" or "run tax. " They said the officers lied -- to a supervisor, 
to medical professionals attending to Nichols and in required written reports 
-- about the extent of the force they used.

   "This has been a long journey for our family," RowVaughn Wells, Nichols' 
mother, told reporters. "I'm actually in shock right now because I still can't 
believe all the stuff that's going on. But we're happy that they all have been 
convicted and they have been arrested."

   Smith's lawyer declined to comment. Attorneys for Bean and Haley did not 
respond to requests for comment.

   Nichols, who was Black, ran from the traffic stop despite being hit with 
pepper spray and a Taser. The five officers, who were fired after the beating, 
also are Black.

   Some of the most emotional testimony at trial came from one of the officers, 
Desmond Mills, who took a plea deal in which prosecutors call for up to 15 
years in prison. He testified in tears that he was sorry, that he left Nichols' 
young son fatherless and that he wishes he stopped the punches. Later, he 
testified that he went along with a cover-up in hopes that Nichols would 
survive and the whole thing would "blow over."

   Nichols died Jan. 10, 2023, three days after the beating. His son is now 7 
years old.

   The other officer who reached a deal with prosecutors, Emmitt Martin, 
testified that Nichols was "helpless" while officers pummeled him, and that 
afterward the officers understood "they weren't going to tell on me, and I 
wasn't going to tell on them." Under his plea agreement, prosecutors will 
suggest a prison sentence of up to 40 years.

   Defense attorneys sought to portray Martin as a principal aggressor. Martin 
testified Nichols was not a threat, yet he acknowledged punching and kicking 
Nichols in the head.

   Mills' lawyer declined to comment. Martin's attorney did not immediately 
respond to a phone message.

   The police video shows the officers milling about and talking as Nichols 
struggles with his injuries. An autopsy report shows he died from blows to the 
head. The report describes brain injuries, and cuts and bruises on his head and 
other areas.

   With the federal criminal trial complete, other investigations and court 
action still aren't settled.

   The five officers also have been charged with second-degree murder in state 
court, where they pleaded not guilty, although Mills and Martin are expected to 
change their pleas. A trial date in state court has not been set.

   The U.S. Department of Justice is conducting a "patterns and practices" 
investigation into how Memphis officers use force and conduct arrests, and 
whether the department in the majority-Black city engages in racially 
discriminatory policing.

   The Justice Department also has a separate review concerning use of force, 
de-escalation strategies and specialized units within Memphis police.

   Pastor Earle Fisher, a Memphis activist who has long called for 
investigations of the city's police, said he hopes the probes "provide for us 
the remedies we so rightly deserve."

   Additionally, Nichols' mother filed a $550 million lawsuit against the city 
and its police chief.

   Ben Crump and Anthony Romanucci, lawyers for Nichols' family, said the 
verdicts "bring a measure of accountability for his senseless and tragic death."

   "Our fight for justice for Tyre is far from over," the lawyers said in a 
joint statement.