MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis shared a statement with ABC24 regarding the verdict in the federal trial of former Memphis police officers.
Jurors reached a split decision for three of the five former officers accused in the beating death of Tyre Nichols in federal court on Thursday afternoon. ABC24 reached out to Chief Davis for a statement on the verdict, and she provided the following comment:
“We respect the judicial process and recognize that this verdict does not resolve all pending charges against the officers. As the process moves forward, our hearts continue to be with Tyre Nichols' family and all those affected.”
Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith each faced four counts, including deprivation of rights under the color of law through excessive force and failure to intervene. Those charges stem from the Jan. 7, 2023 traffic stop of Tyre Nichols. Nichols died three days later at St. Francis Hospital.
Two other officers, Desmond Mills and Emmitt Martin III, accepted plea agreements in the case and testified against their former colleagues.
Jurors ruled Bean was only guilty on one count of obstruction, Haley was found guilty on lesser charges of bodily injury and deprivation of rights resulting in bodily injury and Smith was found not guilty on counts one and two - deprivation of rights and the lesser charge, and deliberate indifference and the lesser charge of deprivation of rights resulting in bodily injury.
Attorneys for all three former Memphis Police officers rested their cases without having to call them to testify. Smith's attorney, Martin Zummach, was the last to rest after calling former and current officers to the stand Monday, Sept. 30. Prosecutors and attorneys delivered closing arguments Wednesday, Oct. 2.
Nichols was beaten Jan. 7 after a traffic stop that was caught on video, and he died three days later. Nichols died of blows to his head, and the manner of death was homicide, an autopsy report released May 4 showed.
The five officers, all of whom are Black, were fired shortly after the beating. In addition to the state charges, they were indicted in September 2023 on the federal civil rights charges alleging they used excessive force and lied about the beating.
Police Chief Davis previously received praise for her swift handling of Nichols' death, but widespread criticism for her lack of transparency, along with actions and policies that allowed incidents like Nichols' death to happen. Though Davis disbanded the SCORPION Unit following the tragedy, it was initially established in the first place under her leadership.
On Wednesday, Dec. 14, Mayor-elect Paul Young announced that Davis will remain in her position when he assumes office, a decision that was met with some controversy.
Davis said during a news conference on Jan. 4, 2024, that the department has learned many lessons since Nichols' death.
"There have been a lot of lessons learned… of how do we move forward as a department and still know that our community still needs good police officers on the street,” said Davis. “The ones that are doing the work every day, that are continuing to do good work every day, we've got to continue to support them but also ensure that we are holding them accountable to do the right thing all the time.”
