MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Nearly a year after the former Memphis police officers accused in the beating death of Tyre Nichols were indicted in federal court, the federal trial for three of those officers is set to begin Monday, Sept. 9.
Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith have all pled not guilty to various charges and will appear in the Odell Horton Federal Building in downtown Memphis.
They will be tried together as co-defendants, and all face the same four charges involving federal civil rights and conspiracy charges in Nichols' death.
Two of the five officers, Desmond Mills and Emmitt Martin, entered guilty pleas in November 2023 and August 23, 2024, respectively. Martin pleaded guilty to counts one and three of the federal indictment. Count One charged Martin with using excessive force and failing to intervene in the unlawful assault. Count three charged Martin with conspiring to cover up his use of illegal force by omitting material information and by providing false and misleading information to his supervisor and others.
The trial will begin with the jury selection, where 200 potential jurors will be interviewed. Several motions and pleas, including requests for change of venue and disagreements over witnesses have plagued the federal case.
During a pretrial conference Friday, prosecutors revealed that they plan to show 14 videos regarding Tyre Nichols' death during the trial. According to the prosecutors, only 11 videos have been made available to the public, while three videos have not been released. On Saturday, however, discovery evidence was submitted to counsel that may include those videos.
"This Scorpion unit, not only was it corrupt, it was corrupted from the beginning," said Antonio Romanucci, an attorney for Nichols' family, in a press conference on August 23. "It never should have been formed. Those officers should not have been on there. They were not supervised."
The state criminal case, in which the officers have different charges, will be set after the federal trial. Each officer is charged with second-degree murder, official misconduct, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, and official oppression.
"You're going to hear testimony that officers were given the right to violate the constitutional rights of citizens who look like Tyre Nichols," said Ben Crump, an attorney for Nichols' family, in a press conference on August 23. "The blood is not only on these officer's hands; the blood is on the Memphis Police Department."
The trial could take several weeks. Though new discovery evidence was submitted for good cause, the court can deny, restrict, or defer discovery. The three officers are being tried as co-defendants, but they will all receive different sentences. ABC24 reached out to several of the ex-officer's attorneys and was told they would not comment.
What we know about the three former officers' actions
Disciplinary reports and court records released since the night of the beating that claimed Tyre Nichols' life on Jan. 7, 2023, shine a light on each former officers' actions - and inactions - that night.
Tadarrius Bean
The disciplinary report addressed to former officer Tadarrius Bean said he failed to record the event in its entirety with his police-issued body camera, a department policy.
The report also said Bean held Nichols by one of his arms, while Tyre was pepper sprayed and then "excessively struck" by another officer with a baton, later identified as Desmond Mills Jr.
Bean "failed to recognize [Nichols'] signs of distress" and failed to disclose "viable information" for medical personnel to render the proper medical attention to Nichols.
As Nichols' medical condition changed while he was on the ground after the beating, Bean failed to "immediately" assist emergency personnel in unhandcuffing Nichols when it was required.
The report also states Bean failed to "take reasonable action" to stop the excessive use of force against Nichols, since Nichols was not armed and had only evaded arrest for a traffic violation.
Bean also admitted to striking Nichols, an unarmed and non-violent subject, with a closed fist two to three times in his face. When asked why, Bean said it was because officers were "unable to handcuff" Nichols.
Bean activated his body camera, but took it off his duty vest and placed it on the trunk of his squad car during an active scene. He also walked away from his body camera after the incident to have a conversation with other officers about the incident.
The report said a civilian bystander took photos and video of the incident which is referenced in several of the officers' disciplinary findings.
Demetrius Haley
Haley was outlined in his disciplinary report as the "first contact officer" at the initial traffic stop. The report said he never told Nichols the purpose of the traffic stop, or that he was under arrest.
It also said Haley was on the phone, and the person he was on the phone with overheard the police encounter.
According to an official statement Haley gave after the encounter, he told investigators he overheard his partner, Emmitt Martin, telling Nichols to "let my gun go," but documents and video show this never happened.
The report said he was the officer who kicked Nichols in the head and stomach when he was on the ground, and sprayed him with pepper spray in his eyes. He never disclosed in his official statement that he kicked Nichols. When later asked why he kicked him, Haley stated he was trying to "loosen his arms."
The report also said Haley took two photos of Nichols while he was on the ground after the encounter, bloody and beaten, and sent those photos to at least five different people.
"On your personal cell phone, you took two photographs while standing in front of the obviously injured subject after he was handcuffed," The report said, addressing Haley directly. "Your actions placed you in violation of DR 603 Information Concerning Police Business."
Haley sent the photos two MPD officers, one civilian MPD employee, and a female acquaintance. A sixth person was identified as having received the photo during MPD's internal investigation.
The report goes on to explain the policy, stating a member "shall no communicate information relating to official police matters without prior approval or subpoena."
He failed to record the traffic stop on his body camera, the report said, and failed to realize Nichols was in distress.
Justin Smith
Justin Smith was one of the officers holding Nichols while others beat him, the disciplinary report said.
He also admitted in an official statement he struck Nichols two to three times with a closed fist in the face because he was unable to handcuff him.
He was also cited for failing to render aid to Nichols as he was on the ground reeling from the beating, instead bragging with his fellow officers of his involvement, which was captured on bystander photos and video.
He did not give a statement at his disciplinary hearing "per his attorney's advice."