3 former Memphis officers acquitted in fatal beating of Tyre Nichols after he fled a traffic stop

MEMPHIS Tenn AP Three former Memphis officers were acquitted Wednesday of all state charges including second-degree murder in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols after he ran away from a traffic stop a death that sparked nationwide protests and prompted renewed calls for police reforms in the U S An out-of-town jury from a majority-white county took about hours over two days to find Tadarrius Bean Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith not guilty on all charges after a nine-day trial in state court in Memphis which is majority-Black After the jury s verdict was read the defendants hugged their lawyers as relatives of the former officers cried One relative yelled Thank you Jesus Martin Zummach Smith s attorney communicated The Associated Press by text It s easy to defend a good person It s nerve racking to represent an innocent man The three defendants still face the prospect of years in prison after they were convicted of federal charges though they were acquitted of the largest part serious charges there too Two other former officers previously pleaded guilty in both state and federal court including Emmitt Martin who defense attorneys blamed for the majority of the violence Nichols a -year-old Black man fled a traffic stop after he was yanked out of his car pepper-sprayed and hit with a Taser Five officers who are also Black caught up with him and punched kicked and hit him with a police baton struggling to handcuff Nichols as he called out for his mother just procedures from his home Nichols died Jan three days after the beating Footage of the beating captured by a police pole camera also demonstrated the officers milling about talking and cackling as Nichols struggled with his injuries video that prompted intense scrutiny of police in Memphis Civil rights attorney Ben Crump who represents Nichols family issued a report expressing outrage at the outcome of the trial In current times s verdicts are a devastating miscarriage of justice the message reads The world watched as Tyre Nichols was beaten to death by those sworn to protect and serve Memphis District Attorney Steve Mulroy revealed he respects the jury but thinks the evidence was there for every charge that prosecutors brought Was I surprised that there wasn t a single guilty verdict on any of the counts or any of the lesser-included offenses given the overwhelming evidence that we presented Yes I was surprised Do I have an explanation for it No He noted he spoke to Nichols family briefly and They were devastated I think they were outraged and we can understand why they would be outraged given the evidence Defense attorneys revealed Martin was responsible for the majority violence Former Memphis officers Desmond Mills Jr and Martin who were also involved in the beating did not stand trial in state court after they agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors They also pleaded guilty in federal court where sentencing for all five officers is pending At trial defense attorneys emphasized that Martin kicked and punched Nichols several times in the head The defense also seemed to figure points with their use-of-force experts who testified that the three officers on trial acted in compliance with police department policies and widely accepted law enforcement standards Attorneys for Bean and Smith called character bystanders who testified that the men were good officers who did their job the right way Mills testified for the prosecution saying he regrets his failure to stop the beating which led to Nichols death from blunt force trauma Nichols suffered tears and bleeding in the brain Dr Marco Ross the anatomical examiner who performed the autopsy declared in court testimony The officers had been charged with second-degree murder aggravated assault aggravated kidnapping official misconduct and official oppression In addition to beating Nichols prosecutors also disclosed the officers failed to intervene and failed to tell biological personnel that Nichols had been hit repeatedly in the head The defense argued that Nichols was resisting arrest Mills acknowledged on the stand that he had a duty to intervene but didn t He admitted Nichols never punched or kicked any of the officers But Mills also bolstered the defense s development when he noted Nichols was actively resisting arrest and not complying with orders to present his hands to be cuffed Under cross-examination he indicated he would not have struck Nichols if Nichols had put his hands behind his back He also agreed that an officer is not safe until a suspect is handcuffed and searched for a weapon Zummach noted in closing arguments that credit and debit cards that did not belong to Nichols were detected in his car when it was searched after the beating and explained it was likely why Nichols ran from the traffic stop Defense lawyers have argued that the fatal beating would not have taken place if Nichols had just allowed himself to be handcuffed This is Emmitt Martin s and Tyre Nichols doing Zummach mentioned The jury for the state trial was chosen in Hamilton County which includes Chattanooga after Judge James Jones Jr ordered the event be heard from people outside of Shelby County which includes Memphis Defense lawyers for the officers had argued that intense publicity made seating a fair jury intricate In December the U S Justice Department noted a -month assessment revealed the Memphis Police Department uses excessive force and discriminates against Black people The five officers the city of Memphis and the police chief are being sued by Nichols family for million A trial has been scheduled for next year