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

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By ADRIAN SAINZ
Updated 2:40 PM CDT, May 7, 2025

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Three former Memphis officers were acquitted Wednesday of 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.

A jury, which appeared to be all white, took about 8 1/2 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. 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!”

The three defendants still face the prospect of years in prison after they were convicted of federal charges last year, though they were acquitted of the most serious charges then, too.

Nichols, a 29-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 Nichols with a police baton, struggling to handcuff him as he called out for his mother just steps from his home. Nichols died Jan. 10, 2023, three days after the beating and the incident directed intense scrutiny of police in Memphis, a majority-Black city.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/tyre-nichols-death-memphis-officers-trial-bad7bc4273fcc272f7b884d5d7386261

[sop]

1. Trump will probably pardon them on the federal charges now.

It's likely going to be a hot night in Memphis after this.

[70sEraVet]

12. I thought the same, about dump issuing a pardon --

but a pardon to BLACK cops?
Maybe not.

[littlemissmartypants]

2. What a travesty. On top of a tragedy.

[Marthe48]

3. For a traffic stop

No one deserves this kind of death for a traffic stop.

[LoisB]

4. Unbelievable! May they all rot in hell for all eternity.

[mahina]

5. Vile. Shame.

We must never forget.

[DENVERPOPS]

6. This, as we all know,

is nothing new, and I suspect it will get far worse now that Trump is back in the White House......

If I were ANY minority, especially in Bright Red, or even slightly Red states, I would be an ex-pat. Of course that would be doing the RepubliCON's work for them, wouldn't it?????????? Maybe that is their covert intention.......

I can only think of the future, when we see a MAGA patch on every Cop's uniform, A bright red MAGA patch, if they did what these cops did..............

AND it isn't just the Red States, Colorado is as blue as it gets, (for now). And the Aurora Colorado City Council has paid out tens and tens and tens of millions for the Aurora PD's actions against Blacks in the past five years. The Aurora Paramedics and Aurora PD actually, (literally) EUTHANIZED a black kid just walking down the street. And it isn't just Aurora PD here......

[Cirsium]

8. Not an option

Most people do not have the option to leave the country.

[DENVERPOPS]

9. You are right, regretfully....NC

[Cirsium]

10. Sad, yes

Did you see the story about people being hassled by ICE when leaving the US for Canada? As usual with authoritarian regimes, at some point "border control" becomes more about keeping people in rather than keeping people out. The only way out will be to a concentration camp.

[DENVERPOPS]

15. I saw that

and thought that exact thing.........We have one of the infamous camps with barracks just outside of Denver that they interred (sp?) the Japanese in during WW11........It was preserved and finally made into a National site honoring those that WE mistakenly punished, purely just for their nationality.....

It has been rumored that Trump and his CABAL are thinking about putting it back in service.........

There are definitely some things done by our government in the past, that we should be ashamed of having done......
Treatment of the Blacks, Interred Japanese, Jackson & the "Trail of Tears", the worst being the outright genocide of 30-60 Million Native Americans and theft of their lands, etc......It has all come back to life with the Republican's Racist Cabal.....led by Trump........

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

7. Criminal thugs in uniforms murdered him and got away with it

This happens over and over again.

Cops killing people over minor infractions.
Running away is NOT justification for beating anyone EVER!

In this case, Black cops beat a young black man to death.

Yet White cops beat to death a LOT more nationwide

Nothing has changed in over 50 years.
Nothing has changed in over 100 years.

Abusive cops killing citizens for minor offenses.

July 1973, The murder Santos Rodriguez,
Murdered by Dallas cop. Cop put a gun to the young kid’s head
And pulled the trigger.

May 1977, The Murder of Jose Campos Torres by Houston police.
Veteran Beaten by Houston cops, thrown in Buffalo Bayou,
Or forced to jump by cops
(Texas Monthly has an excellent report on this murder, but it’s behind a Pay Wall)

https://chicanapormiraza.org/content/death-joe-torres-continued-fight-against-police-brutality

The Death of Joe Torres & the Continued Fight Against Police Brutality

This Historia was researched and created by CPMR Intern Taylor Davidson.



Jose “Joe” Campos Torres was born on December 20, 1953 and died tragically on May 5, 1977. The 23-year-old’s death sparked outrage throughout Houston, Texas where it occurred. Torres, a Mexican-American and Vietnam War veteran, was dressed in his Army fatigues at a bar in a Hispanic neighborhood when he was arrested for disorderly conduct [1]. He had gotten into a fight with another man in the bar, and the bar’s owner called the police [2]. Six police officers took Torres to “The Hole,” a place where police were known to beat Mexicans and other minorities [2]. There, the young man was severely beaten before officers attempted to take him to the city jail. The jail, however, refused to accept Torres because of his serious injuries and demanded that he be taken to Ben Taub General Hospital. Torres was never taken to the hospital. Two days later, his body was found in Buffalo Bayou, a slow-moving river that runs through Houston. The officers reportedly shouted racial slurs as they pushed the handcuffed young man into the river [2].



Two of the officers, Terry Denson and and Steven Orlando, were convicted of negligent homicide, a less serious charge than first or second degree murder, and rather than serving jail time, they received one year of probation and paid a $1 fine [3]. The following year, Denson, Orlando, and another officer, Joseph Janish, served short prison terms after being convicted of federal civil rights violations [3]. The lack of justice for Jose Torres led to even more distrust of police in the Mexican American community. Almost exactly a year later, during a Cinco de Mayo celebration on May 7, 1978 riots erupted in Moody Park. Fifteen people were reportedly injured during these riots and dozens were arrested [1]. The Moody Park riots also resulted in “hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage to businesses and police vehicles,” and fortunately, serious police reforms [4].

More

[DENVERPOPS]

16. We here in Colorado

witnessed Aurora Police Dept blatantly and literally EUTHANIZING a young kid just guilty of "Walking down the street".......
And many many more racist actions by the APD and Denver Police.......You would think that the City Councils would be outraged at paying out tens of millions for their Police Dept's actions...........Aurora has had 5? police chiefs in the past 4? years...small wonder.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

11. Wow

[Godot51]

13. Capital offense...

Running away is a capital offense in a country where too many police officers can't run more than a few meters at a stretch.

[DENVERPOPS]

17. You must have seen a picture of a local cop here

affectionately nick named: "Jelly Roll".........

[wolfie001]

14. Racist scum ALWAYS let other racist scum walk

Since the founding of the US.