A judge has ordered a new trial for three former Memphis police officers convicted in connection with the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man. Nichols passed away on January 10, 2023, three days after a brutal beating by the officers while he was being pulled over in a traffic stop.
On the evening of January 7, 2023, police officers forced Nichols out of his car and pepper sprayed him, Tased him and approached him with guns drawn. Eyewitness testimony indicated that Nichols was crying out for his mother. He sustained life-altering injuries from the brutal attack, which occurred mere blocks from his residence. Police pole camera footage shows the encounter. It captured images of officers milling about, sharing a laugh, and joking as Nichols lay fighting for his life on the ground.
The escalation came after Nichols allegedly fled from police officers. But the five members of the Scorpion unit, an elite crime-suppression team, soon closed in on him. They followed that up with a barrage of punches, kicks and a police baton. Shortly after Nichols’ death, as anger over yet another act of police violence swept across the country and the world, the Scorpion unit was disbanded.
Since the incident occurred, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith were convicted. To hide what they did to him during the beating for which they’ve now been indicted. Yet they were acquitted on more serious federal civil rights charges and then subsequently acquitted on all state charges including second degree murder.
Judge Mark S. Norris of Memphis, who handled the first trial until recusing himself because of appearance of bias, is moved to the case. In her steed, Judge Sheryl H. Lipman presided over the matter. Judge Lipman acknowledged that while Judge Norris’s rulings during the trial were fundamentally sound and grounded in law, the risk of bias necessitated a new trial.
“Judge Norris made the gang statements on at least two occasions, demonstrating that it is a firmly held belief, not an off-hand remark.” – Haley’s lawyer
The backlash against Judge Norris’s statements included discussions of alleged gang connections within Memphis’s police department. An assistant U.S. attorney previously described the department as being “infiltrated to the top with gang members.”
Smith’s lawyer stated that there was “no suggestion or one hint in the federal discovery process or the federal trial that any defendant or any member of the [Memphis] Police Department was in any way affiliated with an illegal street gang either through membership or relationship.”
After their convictions, Smith’s defense counsel said that the court “absolutely did the right thing” in ordering a new trial.
In response to the situation surrounding his recusal, Judge Norris stated, “Because of the code of judicial conduct, I cannot make a statement on this matter.”
Nichols’ horrific death unleashed a wave of outrage and national scrutiny of police practices in Memphis and around the country. The killing once again fueled nationwide protests against police brutality and violence, and fueled calls for systemic, structural, comprehensive police reform.