Memphis police officers pummeled Tyre Nichols because he fled, a form of ‘run tax,’ prosecutor says
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Three former Memphis police officers charged in the January 2023 beating death of Tyre Nichols stood by his body and laughed after they punched and kicked him and hit him with a baton in an attack that a prosecutor says was punishment because he tried to run away.
The former officers are standing trial accused of federal civil rights violations.
Assistant U.S. Atty. Elizabeth Rogers said during opening statements on Wednesday that the officers were punishing Nichols for fleeing a traffic stop, and she used the term “run tax” — police slang for disciplining a subject who tries to escape.
She said Nichols’ actions didn’t warrant the force they used, and she warned jurors they would see videos of the beating. Footage of the attack was publicly released weeks after Nichols’ death.
Rogers also said officers were just standing around in the “crucial” minutes when Nichols’ heart stopped.
“You won’t see Tyre Nichols pose a threat to these officers at any time,” she said.
A second former Memphis police officer has pleaded guilty to civil rights violations in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols.
Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith have pleaded not guilty to charges that they deprived the 29-year-old Nichols of his rights through excessive force and failure to intervene, and obstructed justice through witness tampering.
Two others, Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr., have pleaded guilty to the federal charges. Rogers said Wednesday that Martin and Mills will testify in the trial.
Bean’s lawyer, John Keith Perry, began the defense argument as opening statements continued Wednesday.
Perry said that Nichols drove two miles after the officers put their blue lights on to stop him, that he was not complying with orders to give them his hands, and that he was “fighting like hell” with police.
Perry said video from a sky cop camera would show Nichols acting suspiciously and the evidence would show the officers are not guilty.
“The narrative you hear here will take you five minutes to deliberate on,” he told jurors.
Nichols, who was Black, died in a hospital on Jan. 10, 2023, three days after he was kicked, punched and hit with a police baton after a traffic stop.
Tyreek Hill has called for the termination of the Miami-Dade police officer following an incident during which the Dolphins star was dragged to the pavement from his car and handcuffed.
Police video released that month showed the five officers, who also are Black, beating Nichols about a block from his home as he yelled for his mother. Video also showed the officers milling about and talking with one another as Nichols sat on the ground, struggling with his injuries.
The officers said that they had pulled Nichols over for reckless driving, but Memphis’ police chief has said there is no evidence to substantiate that claim.
An autopsy report said Nichols had died from blows to the head and that the manner of death was homicide. The report described brain injuries and cuts and bruises to his head and other areas.
Nichols worked for FedEx, and he enjoyed skateboarding and photography.
“Tyre Nichols’ family have been praying for justice and accountability from the very beginning of this tragedy,” Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, the civil rights attorneys representing Nichols’ family, said before Wednesday’s proceedings began. “Now that the jury has been selected, they pray that the jury will get all of the evidence and render justice for Tyre.”
With five Black officers charged with murder in the beating death of Black motorist Tyre Nichols, what do we know about the role race plays in policing?
All five officers belonged to a crime suppression team called the Scorpion Unit. They were all fired for violating Memphis Police Department policies after Nichols’ death, and the unit was disbanded.
They were also charged with second-degree murder in state court, where they pleaded not guilty, although Mills and Martin are expected to change their pleas. A trial date in state court has not been set.
On Monday, the judge read a list of potential witnesses that included two other former officers.
Preston Hemphill fired his stun gun at the scene of the traffic stop but didn’t follow Nichols to the scene where other officers beat him. Hemphill was fired.
Dewayne Smith, the supervising lieutenant who arrived on scene after the beating, retired instead of being fired.
Sainz writes for the Associated Press. AP reporter Jonathan Mattise in Nashville contributed to this report.
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