'My son was beaten to a pulp': Emotional testimony as Tyre Nichols murder trial begins

The state criminal trial for three of the five former Memphis police officers accused of fatally beating Tyre Nichols in 2023 has started in Memphis.

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith Jr. are facing charges that include second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. All three defendants pleaded not guilty to all charges. The trial started on April 28.

Two other officers took plea deals ahead of a federal trial last year and will not be tried as part of this state trial, though they could testify.

The out-of-town jury hearing the case is from Hamilton County, Tennessee, and is mostly white, made up of nine women and six men. The jury will be sequestered for the duration of the trial.

Shelby County Deputy District Attorney Paul Hagerman, at the beginning of his opening statement, read the number of an autopsy report, noted Nichols was 29 years old when he died and said the victim's injuries were “torsional” and looked like he was in a car crash.

"It actually tears his brain, and tears his brain from his skull. Except this 29-year-old wouldn't get these injuries in a car wreck," Hagerman said. "Proof will show that he got them from being beat to death by five Memphis police officers. You know his name? Tyre Nichols."

Hagerman said the officers were not monsters, adding that it "doesn't take monsters to kill a man." 

"How does this happen?” Hagerman asked several times throughout his statement. “Five Memphis police officers beat this man to death.”

DA's office outlines what won't come up during Tyre Nichols trial

The Shelby County District Attorney's office will not present a picture of Nichols in the hospital, Hagerman said. It will also not introduce statements made in interviews and response to resistance forms, and will not present the previous conduct of Haley.

A photo Haley took of Nichols immediately after the beating will be stipulated as fact. This means it's agreed the photo is factual but cannot be presented at trial.

Haley sent the photo, which shows an injured Nichols, to several people, including an ex-girlfriend. Judge James Jones Jr. limited the photo as evidence to proceedings that involve Haley only, but did not exclude it altogether.

Michael Stengel, Haley's attorney, argued that the plea agreement for Desmond Mills should be allowed as evidence to question Mills’ credibility. Jones said he’ll give an official ruling on that question before Mills testifies.

Court discusses items found in Nichols' car after arrest

Hagerman said a small amount of marijuana and an "almost residue” level of psilocybin were found in Nichol’s car, along with another person’s ID, credit card and personal documents. Hagerman argued these items were found after the search and should not be included in evidence because the officers on trial couldn’t know they were in there. Perry argued the jury should decide if that’s important.

Hagerman disputed that the credit and debit cards and ID were stolen. Stengel said they can establish that the IDs were stolen and that there were police reports about these items being stolen. The owners of these items will be testifying at some point, he said.

Defense attorneys argued Nichols was very strong due to being on drugs of some sort. It’s an argument that’s been made by defense attorneys in the past.

Martin Zummach, Smith's attorney, said someone was arrested and pleaded guilty to the theft of the credit and debit cards. The cards were reported missing on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, 2022. No additional information was provided about that individual in court.

Hagerman said he didn't see the relevance of these items, adding, “Tyre Nichols is not on trial.” 

In later statements, he reiterated that point to the jurors, who by that point had been brought into the courtroom.

“We’re going to ask for justice for Tyre... Maybe even earlier, they were allowed to arrest Tyre Nichols,” Hagerman said, but after the beating, “this ain’t no legal arrest anymore. Tyre is purely 100% a victim.”

Defense opening statements focus on Nichols resisting arrest, dangers of being a Memphis cop

Each of the three former officers on trial ‒ Bean, Haley and Smith ‒ had their defense attorneys give opening statements. Each attorney took a slightly different approach with the jury, but argued a similar theme: Nichols was dangerous to the officers.

Bean's attorney, John Keith Perry, was the first defense attorney to speak to the jury. He introduced his client with a PowerPoint presentation on the TV that included positives about Bean's life and career as a Memphis police officer.

Perry started by calling Hagerman's opening statement "disingenuous" due to the dangers of being a police officer, adding that Bean asked for Nichols' hands "59 times." He also pushed back on Hagerman's comments about calling the officers monsters.

"You can't call them monsters because y'all have common sense," Perry said before playing animated renderings of Bean attempting to arrest Nichols at the corner of Bear Creek and Castlegate. The animations showed a figure, representing Nichols, grabbing at the ankles of an officer modeled after Bean.

"He refused to stop. He was actively resisting arrest. He was fighting back," Perry said.

Stengel touted the perceived successes of the SCORPION Unit. He also noted the dangers of not knowing anything about Nichols before his arrest.

"Officers grabbed the suspect's wallet and found his name was Tyre Nichols. He was nothing other than the driver of that blue Nissan Sentra until that point," Stengel said. That moment, which came at the end of his opening statement, was the first time Stengel said Nichols' name.

Martin Zummach was the final defense attorney to give his opening statement. Zummach represents Smith and focused on Martin and Mills' roles in beating Nichols. Both men entered pleas, and Zummach deflected to them as the defendants who "pleaded guilty to killing" Nichols.

"Nobody could be reasonably certain that Emmitt Martin would come and crush the brain of Tyre Nichols," Zummach said, adding that Martin was called "deranged" and "homicidal" at the time of Nichols' beating.

He also pointed to Smith as the person who called for medical personnel to come to the scene.

Jurors hear from Nichols' mother to end day one

The first, and only, witness to testify on April 28 was RowVaughn Wells ‒ Nichols' mother. The majority of Wells' testimony on April 28 was known publicly before the state case beginning and focused on the emotional toll of losing her son.

"I lost it," Wells said when asked by Assistant District Attorney Melanie Headley about the day Nichols was taken off life support. She said calling Nichols' older siblings to break the news to them was "the hardest thing."

Wells is softspoken on most days, and her voice wavered as she recalled police arriving at her house the night Nichols was beaten. Her voice, still quiet, grew firm when Headley asked about Nichols' appearance when Wells visited him in the hospital.

"My son was beaten to a pulp. His head was the size of a watermelon," she said. "He was bruised from head to toe."

Stephen Leffler, one of Haley's defense attorneys, was the only attorney to attempt to cross-examine Wells. But as he began asking his first question about Wells being the administrator of Nichols' estate, Headley called for a sidebar with the judge. After a nearly 30-minute recess, Leffler said he did not have any questions for Wells.

Lucas Finton and Jack Armstrong report for The Commercial Appeal.

Lucas Finton covers crime, policing, jails, the courts and criminal justice policy for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com, and followed on X @LucasFinton.

Jack Armstrong covers breaking news and the environment for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at jack.armstrong@commercialappeal.com and followed on X @jca2902