Trial Of 3 Officers Accused Of Beating Tyre Nichols To Death Begins With Grim Warning

MEMPHIS — Prosecutors in Memphis began opening arguments on Wednesday against the three officers on trial in the death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who was beaten by five officers after he fled a traffic stop in January 2023.

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith pleaded not guilty to charges of violating Nichols’ civil rights during the fatal traffic stop last year and are being tried as co-defendants.

If convicted during trial, the three officers face possible life sentences.

Prosecutors said jurors will watch footage of officers fatally beating Nichols during the trial.

“We are going to ask you to do something very hard. We are going to ask that you watch Tyre Nichols being beaten to death,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Rogers told the jury.

“You will also be able to hear the punches, kicks and baton strikes and the impact as they landed on Mr. Nichols’ body. As I said before, those will not be easy days in the courtroom.”

John Keith Perry, a defense attorney representing Bean, told jurors that Bean and the other officers did what they were trained to do.

“These men were called to do the most dangerous job in one of the most dangerous areas of the country.”

The trial began Monday with jury selection. Sixteen jurors were chosen by the end of the day on Tuesday from a pool of over 200.

RowVaughn and Rodney Wells, Nichols’ parents, attended jury selection on Tuesday in front of U.S. District Judge Mark Norris. In an interview with HuffPost,Nichols’ parents described the days leading up to the trial as difficult and a reminder of the pain they felt when their son died on Jan. 10 last year.

“We have been dealing with this since it happened. The community of Memphis has been very gracious