3 Former Officers Acquitted of Most Serious Charge in Tyre Nichols’s Death

Three former Memphis police officers were found guilty on Thursday of federal witness tampering charges in the violent beating of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who died three days after his encounter with the police.

But all of the officers were acquitted of the most serious charge in the case — violating Mr. Nichols’s civil rights by causing his death. One officer, Demetrius Haley, was convicted on a lesser charge of violating Mr. Nichols’s civil rights by causing bodily injury.

The mixed verdict in the federal trial in Memphis comes nearly two years after Mr. Nichols’s death, which sickened many across the nation, who viewed it as the latest example of a young Black man being subjected to excessive force at the hands of the police.

Video of the January 2023 encounter showed that after Mr. Nichols fled a traffic stop, officers viciously punched and kicked him, ignoring his cries for his mother and his attempts to comply with a barrage of conflicting commands. None of the officers reported the extent of the beating.

The three defendants, along with two other former officers who pleaded guilty to their role in the violence, still face additional state charges, including second-degree murder.

Sentencing on the federal convictions is expected to occur in January. The two former officers who were convicted only on the witness tampering charges — Tadarrius Bean and Justin Smith — face up to 20 years in prison. The officers who pleaded guilty are also awaiting sentencing.