Federal Trial For 3 Former Memphis Police Officers Charged With Tyre Nichols Death To Begin

Tyre Nichols’ death sparked nationwide protests after his arrest and a fatal beating caught on police cameras.

Jury selection for the federal trial of three former Memphis police officers charged with violating the civil rights of Tyre Nichols begins on Sept. 9. Nichols’ death sparked nationwide protests after his arrest led to a fatal beating caught on police cameras.

The three officers, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith, have pleaded not guilty to federal charges related to the use of excessive force, failure to intervene, and obstructed justice through witness tampering, NBC reports.

Officers from Memphis Police pulled Tyre Nichols over on Jan. 7, 2023, claiming he was driving recklessly. Police video shows just minutes after the traffic stop, he was yanked out of his vehicle before he ran from police. Police video shows officers catching up with him in a Memphis neighborhood steps away from the home where he lived with his mother. Disturbing video shows police officers beating Nichols with a police baton, kicking and punching him. He died in the hospital on Jan. 10, 2023.

An autopsy report revealed Nichols died after sustaining blows to the head. His death was ruled a homicide.

Per NBC, jurors will be selected from a pool of approximately 200 people. Once the trial begins, it’s expected to last three to four weeks.

The three officers facing federal trial are among the five officers fired after Tyre Nichols’ death. Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr. were also fired for violating the police department’s policies.

A federal grand jury indicted all five officers in September 2023, where Mills and Martin pleaded guilty and could reportedly testify in the federal trial against their three former colleagues. If the officers are convicted, charges carry lengthy sentences, as Black Enterprise previously reported. Counts one and two of the indictment carry a maximum penalty of life in prison. Counts three and four each have a maximum penalty of 20 years.

All five officers were charged with second-degree murder in state court, where they pleaded not guilty.