Ex-police officers found not guilty of murder in Tyre Nichols beating death

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An out-of-town-jury in the Tyre Nichols state case returned a not guilty verdict on all counts for three of the former Memphis police officers charged in his death.

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith, Jr. were charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. After 8½ hours of deliberation, the mostly White jury from Hamilton County found them not guilty of all charges, including lesser offenses they could have been convicted of.

As the not guilty verdicts were read, some of Nichols’ family members could be seen crying. The now-acquitted officers were hugging with their attorneys and the former-officers’ family members were crying after the jury had left. “Hallelujah, thank you, Jesus,” one could be heard shouting repeatedly in the hallway.

The legal team representing Nichols' family said they were "outraged."

"Today's verdicts are a devastating miscarriage of justice," lawyers Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci said in a release. "The world watched as Tyre Nichols was beaten to death by those sworn to protect and serve. That brutal, inhumane assault was captured on video, yet the officers responsible were acquitted. 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."

Five officers pepper-sprayed, punched and kicked Nichols, a 29-year-old father, skateboarder and FedEx worker, during a 2023 traffic stop. Release of video of the beating sparked protests and vigils across the nation and calls for change within the Memphis Police Department.

During the trial, attorneys for Bean, Haley and Smith said Nichols resisted arrest and was dangerous to the officers. They noted drugs and stolen credit cards were found in Nichols' car and said he could have had superhuman strength due to drug use. Prosecutors said the officers beat Nichols to death, pointing to his severe injuries, and tried to cover it up afterward.

Nichols' family did not speak after the trial, instead opting to leave the courthouse. Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said the family was "devastated" after the verdict when prosecutors spoke with them.

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He went on to say that he and the rest of the prosecution team disagreed with the jury's verdict.

"We, in good faith, brought this case and I am convinced to this day that we had compelling evidence that showed that there was proof for every element of every one of the offenses that we charged," Mulroy said in a press conference after the verdict. "The jury took a different view. That is, of course, their right."

What happened to Tyre Nichols?

Nichols was pulled over in the evening hours of Jan. 7, 2023. Haley and another officer initially pulled him over and pulled him from his car.

A struggle ensued, with pepper spray being used and a Taser being fired at Nichols as he ran from officers. It is unclear if the Taser made contact with him.

Another set of officers eventually caught up to Nichols, who was running toward his mother's house. He was less than 100 yards away when he was tackled.

When more officers got to the scene, officers held Nichols' arms and hit him with a barrage of kicks, punches, baton strikes and pepper spray.

The assault lasted minutes and was captured on body cameras and a SkyCop camera. When Nichols went limp, he was handcuffed and leaned against an unmarked squad car. More than 20 minutes pass before he was put on a stretcher and taken to the hospital.

Officers still facing federal prison time

All three former officers were convicted in federal court and face time in federal prison. Sentencing for the federal case was postponed until the state case reached an end. Bean and Smith were acquitted of civil rights violations but found guilty of witness tampering and face up to 20 years in federal prison.

Haley was found guilty on all counts − using excessive force, being deliberately indifferent to Nichols' medical needs, witness tampering and conspiracy to witness tamper − but that jury found that when Haley violated Nichols' civil rights it resulted in injury, not death. Haley could serve a life sentence in federal prison.

There is no parole in the federal system.

Two other former officers, Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr., took a plea deal and pleaded guilty in the federal case to using excessive force and conspiracy to witness tamper. Mills' plea agreement extended to the state case and he will serve both his federal and state sentences at the same time.

Martin and Mills testified during the federal trial. Mills testified during the state trial.

What now?

Mulroy, when asked what message this verdict gives to police in Memphis, said the guilty verdicts in federal court provided some consequences for their actions. He did, however, say that this verdict shows the need for reform.

"If we're going to have any silver lining from this dark cloud of both the event itself and, in my view, today's verdict, it has to be that we need to reaffirm our commitment to police reform and to doing what we need to do to make sure that tragedies like this don't happen again," he said.

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

This story was updated to add new information.