Testimony begins in Tyre Nichols federal case

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Opening statements started on Wednesday morning in the federal trial for the former Memphis Police officers accused of killing Tyre Nichols.

The U.S. Attorney opening statements:

Elizabeth Rogers with the U.S. Attorney’s Office told jurors that evidence will be hard to watch and that those days will not be easy.

“Five officers took turns punching, kicking, and beating Nichols until he died. They stood by his dying body and laughed. They silently agreed to lie about it and cover it up,” Rogers said.

Rogers says that Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills will testify that the team was angry Nichols ran and angry that they pepper sprayed themselves.

Rogers also says the Memphis Police Department will tell them that none of the punches and kicks were in line with training and that kicking a handcuffed suspect is against MPD policy, illegal, and wrong.

“Just the night before the scorpion team had another suspect run from them,” Rogers said. “You will see Haley kick that suspect as he lies on the ground. Bean and Smith did not report that kick. Just like the next night, they lied about it to cover it up.”

Tadarrius Bean’s attorney’s statements:

John Keith Perry, representing Tadarrius Bean, says Bean and Mills were doing routine patrols when a call came out about a man running in the area after being stopped for running a red light.

Perry says they didn’t know anything about what happened in the previous scene.

“If he [Bean] had a crystal ball or something he could have said ‘I ain’t getting out. I ain’t intertwining my life with that man,’” Perry said.

Perry told the jurors that they would see that they were out there struggling.

“You are not supposed to sit in judgment of Tyre Nichols,” Perry said. “Sit here and judge his actions for 10 minutes. Measure his actions. What you are supposed to do is look at it wholeheartedly.”

Demetrius Haley’s attorney statements:

Michael Stengel, representing Demetrius Haley, says “They [officers] had no idea about who that driver [Tyre] was. Some of you mentioned that he knew the driver, but there is no evidence that he knew him.” Stengel says they did not know who he was until they saw his license.

Stengel adds that Nichols did not comply with commands and that if a driver does not pull over, it is categorized as “high risk” and consistent with his [Haley] training, he treated it as such.

Haley uses pepper spray and accidentally gets himself and the others, then Nichols flees, Stengel says.

Haley was involved in three arrests and used force. Haley kicked Nichols once, but it was not against MPD policy, his attorney says.

“He [Haley] was never accused of excessive force in any of the other 3 arrests. None of the other officers responded that there was improper force used. No one said anything until after Jan. 7,” Stengel said. “This Toxic Stew came together on Jan. 7. As tragic as this was, Haley is not guilty.”

The attorney mentions it was “wrong” and against policy for Haley to take photos of Nichols and send them to people.

This comes after a two-day search for a jury, Judge Mark Norris finalized the 12 jurors and four alternates. The jury will be comprised of eight women – four white and four Black, and eight men – two Black, two Asian, and four white.

Justin Smith’s attorney’s opening statements

Attorney Martin Zummach says Justin Smith was the unit team leader.

• “He has made over 1,000 felony arrests, and they all unfolded exactly as this one did.”
• “Justin Smith was the only one on the scene trying to help.”
• Smith on why he became on officer, according to Zummach: “I think women should be able to get gas in their neighborhood without having to go to Germantown.”
• “Nichols chose to run, argue, and hide. He made the choice.”
• Says to the jury you will hear from witnesses who have pleaded guilty
• “The guy who punched this kid [Tyre] punched him 5 times because he was angry.”
• Says that Justin Smith will testify

Statement of Rachael Love, first witness for the prosecution

• She was a critical care nurse practitioner on the night Tyre was brought in.
• Worked at St. Francis ICU 3.5 years
• He was critical in cardiac arrest when he arrived. Flatlined at 9:04 p.m. and regained a pulse after 25 minutes
• Said Tyre looked like he had “been in a bar fight” and his face was unrecognizeable.
• Injuries on the initial exam: large “goose egg” on his forehead – looked like a golf ball, swelling to right shoulder and arm, left thigh, left tooth broken, cut on lip, abrasions to both shoulders and knees and neck, Lacerations to knuckles, puncture marks in his palms.
• Transferred to ICU because of his status just after 11 p.m.
• Blood pressure was low. Started on multiple medications
• Says other officers in the hospital “seemed casual. Sitting down talking amongst themselves.”

Witness: Andrew Galotti with FBI

• With the FBI for 14 years
• Current job: Supervisory electronics engineer
• Used to work as forensics examiner for audio and video evidence
• Was asked to take video from bodycams and sync it with video from the street cam: SkyCop
• Used visual cues to sync the videos, running times on the top of the videos did not match up perfectly.
• Says he made no alterations to the SkyCop camera nor the bodyworn cameras

Added to evidence:

• Sky Cop footage at 6727 Castlegate
• Desmond Mills body camera
• Demetrius Haley body camera
• Preston Hemphill body camera
• Dewayne Smith body camera
• Adrian Blakes body camera
• Tony Moore body camera

*****

On Wednesday morning, Civil Rights Attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci released a statement.

“Tyre Nichols’ family have been praying for justice and accountability from the very beginning of this tragedy. Now that the jury has been selected, they pray that the jury will get all of the evidence and render justice for Tyre.”

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith will stand trial over the next three to four weeks on charges of federal civil rights violations, conspiracy, and obstruction.

The other two former MPD officers accused in the case, Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills, have since taken plea deals. However, Martin also appeared in court on Wednesday.

In January 2023, Tyre Nichols died in a hospital three days after being beaten by Memphis Police during a traffic stop near his home. Video and body cam footage of Nichols’ violent arrest was released by MPD weeks after the incident.

All five suspects still face an upcoming murder case at the state level. Tyre Nichols’ family also has a $550 million lawsuit pending against Memphis Police and the City.

This story will be updated.

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