Judge sets April trial for 3 former officers charged with murder in Tyre Nichols’ beating

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Three former Memphis police officers charged with murder in the beating of Tyre Nichols will go on trial in April, a judge decided Friday.

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith have pleaded not guilty to state charges of second-degree murder in the death of Nichols, who was punched, kicked and hit with a police baton after he fled a traffic stop in January 2023.

During a hearing Friday, Shelby County Judge James Jones Jr. scheduled their trial in state court for April 28.

The three were found guilty Oct. 3 of federal witness tampering charges in the death of Nichols, 29, whose beating was caught on police video that has been released to the public. Haley was also convicted on two federal civil rights violations and a charge of conspiracy to witness tamper. They are scheduled for sentencing on the federal convictions in January.

The three, along with Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills Jr., were part of a crime suppression team called the Scorpion Unit that was disbanded after Nichols’ beating.

Mills and Martin pleaded guilty ahead of the federal trial, and they testified for prosecutors. Their sentences are pending. Mills and Martin also are expected to change their pleas in state court, which allows them to avoid a murder trial.

Nichols, who was Black, had run from a traffic stop despite being hit with pepper spray and a Taser. He died Jan. 10, 2023, three days after the beating. The five officers, who also are Black, were fired and then indicted in the death, which sparked national protests and calls for broad changes in policing.

After officers caught up to Nichols, police body cameras and a security camera captured officers pummeling Nichols in a struggle just steps from his home as he cried out for his mother.

The video shows the officers milling about, talking and laughing as Nichols struggles with his injuries. An autopsy report shows he died from blows to the head. The report describes brain injuries, along with cuts and bruises on his head and other areas.

Attorneys for Bean and Smith have filed motions asking U.S. District Judge Mark S. Norris to throw out their federal convictions. Norris has not ruled on the motions.