Opening statements are set in the trial of 3 ex-Memphis officers charged in Tyre Nichols’ death

MEMPHIS, Tennessee — Opening statements were expected on Wednesday the federal process of three former Memphis police officers charged with federal civil rights violations in the January 2023 beating death case Band Nichols.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys will address a jury for the first time in the case surrounding Nichols’ death, a case captured on police body cameras that has heightened calls for police reform in the U.S. The trial is expected to last three to four weeks.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed Tuesday on the 12 jurors and four alternates. pool of 200 candidates questionnaires before jury selection. Prospective jurors answered questions from U.S. District Judge Mark Norris about whether they could be fair and impartial in light of the heavy media attention surrounding the trial and whether viewing video footage of the beating would be a problem for them if they were selected.

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith have pleaded not guilty to charges that they deprived the 29-year-old Nichols of his rights through excessive force and failure to intervene, and obstruction of justice through witness tampering. Two others, Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr., have already pleaded guilty to federal charges and could testify against their former colleagues.

Nichols, who was Black, died in a hospital on January 10, 2023, three days after he was kicked, punched and beaten with a police baton following a traffic stop. Police video Released that month, the five officers, who are also black, beat Nichols as he screamed for his mother a block from his home. Video footage also showed the officers standing around and talking to each other as Nichols sat on the ground, struggling with his injuries.

Officers said Nichols was pulled over for reckless driving, but the Memphis police chief said there was no evidence to support that claim.

An autopsy report found that Nichols had died from blows to the head and that the cause of death was homicide. The report described brain injuries and cuts and bruises to the head and other areas.

Nichols worked for FedEx and he loved skateboarding and photography.

The three officers now on trial, along with Martin and Mills, were fired for violating Memphis Police Department policy. They had been members of a crime-fighting team called the Scorpion Unit, which was disbanded after Nichols’ death.

Shortly after their release, the five were charged with second-degree murder in state court, where they pleaded not guilty. They were then indicted by a federal grand jury from September 2023.

Mills and Martin are also expected to plead guilty to the state charges. No trial date has been set in state court.

On Monday, the judge read a list of potential witnesses, including Martin and Mills, as well as two other former officers. Preston Hemphill fired his stun gun at the scene of the traffic stop but did not follow Nichols to the scene where other officers were beating him. Hemphill was fired. Dewayne Smith was the supervising lieutenant who arrived at the scene after the beating. He retire instead of being fired.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee told reporters Tuesday that Nichols’ death “should never have happened” but that “steps have been taken to improve conditions in the city of Memphis and with the Memphis Police Department.”

“That family will be forever changed by that loss,” the Republican said when asked directly about the trial. “And we talk a lot about redemption. And what we have to hope for is that the redemption that comes with justice is carried out here in this case.”

Earlier this year, Lee and Republican lawmakers clashed with Nichols’ mother and stepfather when the state Memphis Police Department Reforms Withdrawn which were implemented after their son’s death. One of the annulled city ordinances prohibited so-called pretext traffic stops, such as for a broken taillight and other minor violations.

___

Associated Press reporters Jonathan Mattise and Kimberlee Kruesi contributed from Nashville, Tennessee.