Tyre Nichols trial paused as judge considers admissable statements

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Questions regarding use of force forms and their place in the federal trial for three former Memphis Police officers accused in the beating death of Tyre Nichols are in the spotlight on Friday.

The question is whether some statements and documents Officer Demetrius Haley filled out will be admissible in court.

A lot of this centers around the statements officers must give to Memphis Police any time there is use of force, which are called Garrity statements.

In court on Friday, there was a hearing to decide if those statements and the Response to Resistance Forms can be admitted as evidence in this case.

All of this was heard without a jury present, and now the judge will decide if they can be presented in the presence of a jury. This is important because what officers write in those forms will be looked at and compared to what is seen in the video of Tyre Nichols being beaten.

Former officer Demetrius Haley wants those documents excluded from the trial.

Haley took the stand briefly to answer questions about what he thought would happen with the Garrity statements he made and the resistance forms he filled out.

He was questioned about whether he was compelled to fill them out or complained about not wanting to. He admitted that he talked about the forms with other officers and defendant Tadarrius Bean.

Haley also admitted to leaving information out of the form but said it was not on purpose.

Defense attorneys say the forms and Garrity statement should be protected, if not it should be a mistrial. The prosecution says they are part of the incident and should be included in criminal proceedings.

Judge Mark Norris has recessed court and says that he is taking all of that under advisement.

Second Lieutenant Larnce Wright, one of the instructors who trained all five of the accused officers at the MPD Training Academy testified on Thursday . He said along with the use of force, the traffic stop itself was against MPD policy.

“Officers may only use the necessary amount of force. Resistance and force must match,” Wright said. “They can not use force as punishment.”

Lieutenant Wright also mentioned that Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith, the three officers on trial, were taught that if they violated these policies they could go to federal prison.

Wright’s testimony is expected to continue on Friday morning with cross-examination by the defense.

Bean, Haley, and Smith will stand trial over the next two to three weeks on charges of federal civil rights violations, conspiracy, and obstruction in connection to Tyre Nichols’ death in 2023.

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