MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Sentencings for five former Memphis police officers convicted of federal charges in the beating death of Tyre Nichols will take place after an April state court trial on second-degree murder in the Black man’s death, a judge ruled Friday.
Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith will be scheduled for sentencing in federal court the week of June 16, with specific dates for each former officer to be set later, U.S. District Judge Mark Norris said during a court hearing. The former officers are also Black.
Bean, Haley and Smith had been set for sentencing next week. Martin’s sentencing had been scheduled for the following week, and Mills’ sentencing had been set for Feb. 20. John Keith Perry, Bean’s lawyer, had asked the judge to delay the sentencing. Perry argued that Bean may testify on his own behalf at the federal sentencing hearing, and any comments he may make under oath could be used against him at the April 28 state court trial.
Lawyers for the former officers also took issue with certain aspects of their presentencing reports related to guidelines that will be used by the judge to determine their prison terms. Those issues will be addressed in motions filed with the federal court and a hearing set in February.
Police video showed officers pepper spraying Nichols, 29, and hitting him with a Taser before he ran away from a traffic stop on Jan. 7, 2023. The five officers chased down Nichols and kicked, punched and hit him with a police baton just steps from his home as he called out for his mother. The video showed the officers milling about, talking and laughing as Nichols struggled.
Nichols died three days after the beating. The five officers were fired, charged in state court with murder, and indicted by a federal grand jury on civil rights and witness tampering charges.
In court proceedings dealing with Nichols’ death, Martin and Mills pleaded guilty to the federal charges under deals with prosecutors. The other three officers were convicted in early October of witness tampering related to the cover-up of the beating. Bean and Smith were acquitted of civil rights charges of using excessive force and being indifferent to Nichols’ serious injuries.
Haley was acquitted of violating Nichols’ civil rights causing death, but he was convicted of two lesser charges of violating his civil rights causing bodily injury.
Martin and Mills also are expected to change their not guilty pleas in state court, according to lawyers involved in the case. Bean, Haley and Smith have also pleaded not guilty to the state charges.
Nichols’ death led to national protests, raised the volume on calls for police reforms in the U.S. and directed intense scrutiny towards the police department in Memphis, a majority-Black city.
The U.S. Department of Justice conducted a 17-month investigation of the Memphis Police Department that began months after Nichols’ death. The investigation concluded that the department uses excessive force and discriminates against Black people.
The Memphis Police Department is more than 50% Black. Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis is also Black.
The five officers were part of a crime suppression team called the Scorpion Unit, which was disbanded after Nichols’ death. The team targeted drugs, illegal guns and violent offenders, with the goal of amassing arrest numbers, while sometimes using force against unarmed people.
Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
