Tyre Nichols trial: Ex-MPD officer recounts night of beating

WREG will update this story with new developments throughout the day.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The federal trial for three former Memphis police officers charged in the beating death of Tyre Nichols is moving into its second week.

Expert witness Larnce Wright, one of the instructors who trained all five of the accused officers at the MPD Training Academy, will start the morning off on the stand Monday. Last week, Wright was questioned about Response to Resistance forms that the officers filled out after the beating.

When asked about how the reports compare to the body camera footage from the scene, Wright said all three of the RTRs were inaccurate in some capacity. He mentioned that some of the officers omitted the kicks and punches to Nichols in their reports.

Cross-examinations began with Kevin Whitmore, representing Tadarrius Bean, and are expected to carry into Monday. He discussed MPD training at the academy and argued that the officers involved were not trained properly or extensively enough in the areas that matter most.

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin 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.

UPDATE: 5:45 – Week 2: Day 1

Emmitt Martin took the stand at 4:50 and described how he stopped Tyre Nichols.

He said he was parked perpendicular to Nichols’ car, however, that’s not how he was trained. He added that he didn’t know why he parked his vehicle that way.

He claimed that Officer Preston Hemphill’s car was behind Nichols and it came to a traffic stop. Demetrius Haley was said to be on the back driver’s side.

Martin admitted on the stand to exaggerating what Nichols did, which he said “turned it into a felony.”

Once Nichols’ vehicle was surrounded, Martin said that Haley told him to “Get the f*** out of the car.”

As soon as Nichols was ordered out of the car, they snatched him out. Martin said that they never told him why they stopped him.

“We just didn’t,” Martin said. “We are supposed to tell them why we pulled them over before we get them out.”

Martin admitted that it was against MPD policy to pull him out of the car because “he was not a threat.”

He added that once he saw Haley’s hands on Nichols, he had to have hands on him too.

He said he was taught at the academy that “if one officer has hands on him, we all have to have hands-on him.”

He confessed that Nichols never threw a punch or kicked them.

He said he felt a tug on his duty belt, so he yelled, “Let go of my gun!” and it alerted everyone around.

Martin admitted that he never saw Nichols grab at his gun.

He said the officers proceeded to pepper spray Martin, which was against policy because he wasn’t a threat. Hemphill then tased Nichols.

He said that they should have “analyzed the situation better.”

He added that he didn’t have his body cam on, even though it should have been per MPD policy.

During Martin’s testimony, Tyre Nichols’ mother had her head on her husband’s shoulders.

Court recessed for the day at 5:30 p.m. and will resume Tuesday morning at 8:30 a.m.

UPDATE: 2:30 – Week 2: Day 1

Kevin Whitmore’s questioning of Larnce Wright continues.

Whitmore argued that since Nichols didn’t stop and pull over immediately and a pursuit began, the incident was more than a “normal” traffic violation.

Whitmore hinted at the fact that Tyre Nichols was driving a Nissan when he was pulled over.

Despite the notion that Nissans and certain vehicles heighten officers’ attention, Wright said that wasn’t the case.

“I can’t tell you to violate somebody’s rights just because they have a certain type of vehicle, sir,” Wright said.

Memphis Police policy states that officers are not going to violate someone’s rights just because of the type of vehicle they drive.

Wright also discussed the difficulty of policing with body armor on considering the equipment can weigh up to 15 to 20 pounds.

“It can impact an incident a lot,” Wright said.

Martin Zummach, Justin Smith’s attorney questioned Wright next.

During questioning, Wright described the definition of passive and active resistance.

Wright said active resistance is using “Hard Hands, kicks, head butts, or using a weapon.” He also described passive resistance as something like running from the police.

Zummach tried to make the point that if you pull up to a scene after hearing that he (Nichols) was tased and pepper sprayed, he must have been fighting with the officer(s).

Wright agrees that you would treat him as a high-risk suspect because of this.

Prosecutor Kathryn Gilbert was the last to question Wright.

Wright agreed that the Use of Force Continuum is a concept trained in multiple classes.

He explained that the point of the training was to teach recruits how to deal with themselves and the suspect on the scene.

However, Wright said that none of the officers were within the code concerning the force they used on the scene as seen in the video.

UPDATE: 11:30 – Week 2: Day 1

Judge Mark Norris says the state questioned Larnce Wright for 2.5 hours over the course of Thursday and Friday, and Kevin Whitmore cross-examined him for 3.5 hours on Friday. So far today, he has added another hour and a half to that time.

That is just the amount of time it has taken one of the three defense attorneys to cross-examine Wright.

Judge Norris questioned attorneys about the length of their cross-examinations before court started this morning, but defense attorneys say this is their only chance to question the witnesses and there is a lot at stake.

Whitmore once again brought into question the ex-officer’s training.

He asked about who does the training and said Wright himself never actually taught Bean how to write an incident report or provide medical training, yet he testified that Bean and the other officers did not do it correctly.

They discussed the risks involved in certain traffic stops and how officers are taught they must decide what tactics to use. Wright said any stop can turn violent, but they must first find out why the alleged suspect is fleeing and what their charges are before pursuing them.

Whitmore also brought up concerns regarding the impact of fatigue on officers. Wright explained that officers who are experiencing fatigue often get confused and frustrated.

There are 37 witnesses left on the list of 40 provided last week, meaning it may be a long process to get through all of them.

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