MEMPHIS (AP) — Three former Memphis police officers charged in the January 2023 beating death of Tyre Nichols stood by his body and laughed after they punched, kicked and hit him with a baton in an attack that a prosecutor says was punishment because he tried to run away.
The former officers are standing trial accused of federal civil rights violations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Rogers said during opening statements Wednesday that the officers were punishing Nichols for fleeing a traffic stop and she used the term "run tax" — police slang for disciplining a subject who tries to escape. She said the force they used did not match Nichols' actions, and she warned jurors they would see videos of the beating. Footage of the attack was publicly released just weeks after his death.
Rogers also said officers were just standing around in the "crucial" minutes when Nichols' heart stopped.
"You won't see Tyre Nichols pose a threat to these officers at any time," Rogers said.
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 obstructed justice through witness tampering. Two others, Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr., have already pleaded guilty to the federal charges. Rogers said Wednesday that Martin and Mills will testify.
Bean's lawyer, John Keith Perry, began crafting a defense in front of jurors as opening statements continued Wednesday.
Perry said Nichols drove 2 miles (3 kilometers) after the officers put their blue lights on to stop him and was not complying with orders to give them his hands, and that he was "fighting like hell" with police. Perry said video from a sky cop camera would show Nichols acting suspiciously and evidence would show the officers are not guilty.
"The narrative you hear here will take you five minutes to deliberate on," Perry said.
Nichols, who was Black, died in a hospital on Jan. 10, 2023, three days after he was kicked, punched and hit with a police baton following a traffic stop. Police video released that month showed the five officers, who also are Black, beating Nichols as he yelled for his mother about a block from his home. Video also showed the officers milling about and talking with each other as Nichols sat on the ground, struggling with his injuries.
The officers said Nichols was pulled over for reckless driving, but Memphis' police chief has said there is no evidence to substantiate that claim.
An autopsy report showed Nichols died from blows to the head and that the manner 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 enjoyed skateboarding and photography.
"Tyre Nichols' family have been praying for justice and accountability from the very beginning of this tragedy," Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, the civil rights attorneys representing Nichols' family, said before proceedings began Wednesday. "Now that the jury has been selected, they pray that the jury will get all of the evidence and render justice for Tyre."
All five officers belonged to a crime suppression team called the Scorpion Unit. They were all fired for violating Memphis Police Department policies after Nichols' death and the unit was disbanded.
They were also charged with second-degree murder in state court, where they pleaded not guilty, although Mills and Martin are expected to change their pleas. A trial date in state court has not been set.
On Monday, the judge read a list of potential witnesses that included two other former officers. Preston Hemphill fired his stun gun at the traffic stop scene but didn't follow Nichols to where other officers pummeled him. Hemphill was fired. Dewayne Smith was the supervising lieutenant who arrived on scene after the beating. He retired instead of being fired.
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Associated Press reporter Jonathan Mattise contributed from Nashville, Tennessee.