Sept. 11 (UPI) — Three former Memphis police officers facing charges for their roles in Tyre Nichols’ beating death in January 2023 “stood by his dying body and laughed,” a federal prosecutor said Wednesday.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Rogers told jurors of the defendants’ alleged behavior during her opening arguments as the trial of the three former Memphis cops got underway Wednesday in the U.S. District Court of Western Tennessee.
Rogers told the jurors they would see and hear “horrifying” video and audio footage of the beating of Nichols, 29, on the night of Jan. 7, 2023, which caused him to die three days later.
The three former police officers — Tadarrius Bean, Justin Smith and Demetrious Haley — are charged with federal civil rights crimes in the case, including excessive use of force and unlawful assault.
Two other former officers — Desmond Mills Jr. and Emmitt Martin III — pleaded guilty to the same charges and agreed to testify against the three defendants.
All five former police officers were members of the Memphis Police Department’s now-defunct Scorpion Task Force that was tasked with reducing street crime in Memphis.
When the officers finally caught Nichols, they used excessive force that eventually killed him, Rogers said.
A coroner’s report said Nichols died of blunt-force trauma after the officers allegedly repeatedly struck him with fists, feet and police batons after using a taser and pepper spray.
Rogers told jurors the officers beat Nichols for running from them and called it a “run tax” after they tried to pull him over for allegedly driving recklessly.
She said the officers stood around and did nothing when Nichols needed medical help and never posed a threat to the officers.
Bean’s defense attorney John Perry told jurors the officers did their jobs and evidence would show they are innocent of the crimes of which they are accused.
He said Nichols drove for 2 miles after the officers turned on their blue police lights and fought “like Hell” with the officers after refusing to give them his hands.
Nichols and all five former police officers are Black.
U.S. District Judge Mark Norris is presiding over the case and said it likely will take several weeks to conclude.
