MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Opening statements were given on the third day of the Federal civil rights trial against three former Memphis Police officers accused in the beating death of Tyre Nichols.
Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith have all pled not guilty to various federal civil rights charges.
Just a day after the jury was selected, United States Attorney Elizabeth Rogers opened the prosecution's statement saying that jurors could expect to see evidence in the case, warning the jurors that video evidence is graphic with “horrifying audio and terrible clarity.”
Two of the officers who previously pleaded guilty to federal charges, Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr., are expected to testify against their former colleagues in the upcoming weeks, Rogers said.
In her argument, Rogers focused on the SCORPION Unit's culture, including the "run tax," in which it was understood among unit members that the first person to apprehend a running suspect would beat them up. There was also an unspoken code to not snitch, Rogers claimed.
“They stood by his dying body and laughed,” Rogers said. “These will not be easy days.”
Besides the events on the scene, Rogers went on to allege that information on what happened at the scene was not disclosed to doctors at St. Francis Hospital, where Nichols was taken for medical attention, dying three days after his encounter with the then-MPD officers.
The defense, on the other hand, focused on the responsibilities of a police officer. Bean’s attorney John Keith Perry was the first one to speak, saying that the jury can expect to see the officers "did their job," an argument that all three defense attorney's claimed.
Perry claims that Nichols dumped evidence at a scene before being seen by Bean, who was not at the initial stop and only knew what was put over the radio.
“It will take you five minutes to deliberate,” Perry said.
Haley's defense attorney, Michael Stengel, used his opening statement to claim that Nichols did not stop for two miles after the officers indicated to him to pull over, something that Perry also claimed. Stengel continued to claim the car went from 'fleeing' to 'stopping' which they claimed made it a high risk stop, per MPD training.
Stengel also claimed, the actions of his client were not based on a personal vendetta against Nichols, saying there is no evidence to say otherwise.
“When they got the wallet after the stop, that’s when they learned who it was,” Stengel said.
Smith, the third former officer charged, will also be testifying in the federal trial, said his lawyer Martin Zummach.
“We have nothing to prove… he wants to tell you his story,” said Zummach.
Zummach argued that Smith was not supposed to be at work on the night of the beating on January 7, 2023, due to a knee injury, but he offered to come in.
The lawyer claimed Smith happened upon Bean tackling Nichols and was trying to help, saying he was the only person to ask for medical to be dispatched.
“I’ll let you look at the type of medical care he got from MFD,” Zummach said, claiming that paramedics did not have their oxygen bag on them.
Yet Zummach biggest argument is that the former officers were just doing their job, saying that policing is a tough job, even alluding to a juror being a former cop.
“I don’t have the guts to do it... These guys did” Zummach said. “At the end of this trial, I’m going to look you in the eye and ask you to come back with Justin Smith not guilty.”
After a sidebar, Judge Norris said that opening statements are not evidence and some of the statements had become argumentative, citing things like what a defendant could have done.
“Those are inappropriate,” Norris said. “You must disregard.”
Nichols' family reacts
Nichols' mother, RowVaughn Wells, said in a September 11 press conference during a court recess that they are hoping the officers are found guilty to show the world that her son was a good person and not the criminal the defense is making him out to be.
The family says they pray not only for justice for Nichols, but that no other child needs to be taken from this earth in this manner.
Ben Crump, an attorney for Nichols' family, said the Nichols' family has been praying hard for justice, and announced they will attend the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation conference in Washington, D.C. over the weekend to remind the country to "[not] forget Tyre Nichols."
Prosecution calls the first witness
Prosecutors called the first witness, Rachael Love, a critical care nurse practitioner who treated Nichols at St. Francis Hospital.
Prosecutor Elizabeth Rogers asked Love what she saw that night, twice leading to objections.
“I was told the police beat the hell out of him,” Love said before the objection.
Love was working at the hospital on the night of January 7 when Nichols arrived in critical condition and on a ventilator in police custody. He had had no pulse for at least 25 minutes, Love said.
Love testified that she gave Nichols IV fluids for the shock, as well as medicine for his kidneys and blood pressure and for convulsions in his face.
She saw him next while doing ICU rounds, at that moment Nichols' had more swelling and kidney failure had set in, which led Love to say Nichols looked like a different person, saying “a bigger assault than what I thought.”
Jurors then saw four photos of Nichols at the hospital, which were taken by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI).
As Love's testimony continued, she said that when Nichols' family arrived Wells took a few steps in, stopped, screamed and collapsed.
The next Wednesday night, on January 11, Love found out that Nichols had died.
During cross examination, defense attorneys asked if the swelling could be cause by the fluids administered or by organ failure, but Love testified that this wasn't possible, at least not for the swelling in the face.
Zummach then asked if Nichols could have had a bronchospasm caused by the pepper spray.
Love said initially they believed it could have been a cause due to what they had been told about pepper spray use.
A bronchospasm is the closure of the airway which limits oxygen to the lungs. An irritant like pepper spray can cause them and could lead to cardiac arrest, Love said.
Prosecution calls second witness
A second witness, Andrew Galotti who works for the federal bureau of investigation, was called by prosecutors.
Galotti took body worn cameras and synced them to the footage from SkyCop cameras for former MPD officers Desmond Mills and Adrian Blakes.
Those synced videos are in a Picture in Picture format and were entered into evidence before the day ended but were not played.
Jury adjourned early due to the court needing to finish matters without them.
The trial will resume Thursday at 9:30 am
The trial could take several weeks. The three officers are being tried as co-defendants, but they will all receive different sentences. ABC24 reached out to several of the ex-officer's attorneys and was told they would not comment.
