Posted on by Randy Slovacek

Former Officers Plead Not Guilty To Tyre Nichols Murder Charges

The five former Memphis Police officers accused of killing Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man pulled over for a traffic stop, pleaded not guilty this morning to second-degree murder charges.
L-R Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills, Jr., Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean. (mugshots – Memphis Police)

The five former Memphis Police officers accused of killing Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man pulled over for a traffic stop, pleaded not guilty this morning to second-degree murder charges.

Their court appearance comes a month after police and traffic cameras captured the officers punching, kicking and beating Nichols with a baton.

From the New York Times:

The five men — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith — also face additional charges, including official misconduct, official oppression and kidnapping.

They were formally arraigned on Friday in a brief court proceeding, less than a month after top police officials fired the officers.

On Jan. 7, Mr. Nichols was stopped by Scorpion officers and pulled from his car in what the police initially characterized as a stop for reckless driving. He ran and when officers caught up to him, they began to beat him, according to video footage from the scene.

At one point two officers held him up so a third could keep delivering baton blows. Mr. Nichols died in a hospital three days later.

Read the full report here.