MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Monday marks day 16 of the federal trial for three ex-officers facing civil rights charges in connection to the beating death of Tyre Nichols.
Federal prosecutors rested their case Thursday, Sept. 26, against former officers Demetrius Haley, Tadarrius Bean and Justin Smith. Prosecutors called 19 witnesses over several weeks as they argued that the former officers had deprived 29-year-old Nichols of his civil rights and conspired to lie about what happened.
"The defense doesn't have to put on any proof in a case like this where the government's called an expert witness to say that they used excessive force," said attorney Arthur Horne. "You've already seen a couple of the attorneys or the defense teams call their own expert witnesses to rebut that or to refute that."
One of the most significant moments over the past week was when ex-officer Desmond Mills — who was also indicted in the case but accepted a plea deal — got emotional during his testimony, saying that he wished he would've stopped the punches and that it hurt to watch. After the U.S. government rested its case Thursday, the defense called its first witnesses and is expected to call other witnesses this week. Shortly after, Smith's attorney Martin Zummach filed a motion for acquittal on Thursday. Horne said this established more of the officer's character.
"It probably is going to hurt any of the individuals that are convicted because it shows that they engaged in a culture of behavior that was horrible, and it was inflicted upon people in this community," he said.
And with this trial and another involving the accused killers of Young Dolph going on at the same time, the eyes of the nation are on Memphis. Horne said that will likely make sentencing more harsh in this case.
"I think what you're going to see in the sentencing is one, the judges probably want to send a message to other police officers," he said. "Two, the community that this isn't going to be tolerated, and three, that these officers should be held to a higher standard, and probably will be."
Horne believes the defense portion of this case will wrap up more quickly, and once the federal trial is over, the state trial for these ex-officers will likely follow the outcome of the federal one and that an example may be made out of these men.