Opening arguments were heard on Monday (April 28) in the trial for three former Memphis police officers who fatally beat Tyre Nichols during a 2023 traffic stop, per the Associated Press.
On Monday, prosecutor Paul Hagerman showed the jury footage of Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith beating Nichols as the three ex-officers face charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression. The trio pleaded not guilty to state charges.
Two other officers, Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills Jr., are also facing charges in Nichols’ death but won’t stand trial as they are expected to change their not guilty pleas in state court.
Hagerman argued Monday that Bean, Haley, and Smith were “frustrated, angry, and full of adrenaline” when they beat Nichols on January 7, 2023, per AP. Video showed officers pepper-spraying Nichols and hitting him with a Taser before he ran away from the traffic stop. The five officers then chased after Nichols and caught up to him just steps away from his home, where they beat him as he called out for his mother.
Two officers held Nichols’ arms as he was punched, kicked, and hit with a police baton. Following the beating, officers failed to tell medical personnel that Nichols was hit in the head, Hagerman said. Nichols died three days after the beating from blunt force trauma.
Hagerman said the officers had a duty to stop the beating, but none of them did. The prosecutor argued that the officers were “overcome by the moment.”
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