Lawyer for one of the Memphis police officers charged with Tyre Nichols’ death plays the race card, saying ‘let’s not forget my client is a black man in America’ – as all five cops plead NOT GUILTY to murder
- It was the first time the officers came face to face with Tyre’s family
- Nichols died on January 10, three days after being beaten by the officers
- The officers pleaded not guilty and will return to court in May
The five Memphis police officers who beat Tyre Nichols before his death appeared in court today to plead not guilty to murder and assault charges, as an attorney for one suggested he was being unfairly persecuted as a ‘black man in America’.
Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith and their lawyers appeared with their lawyers before a judge in Shelby County Criminal Court in Memphis, Tennessee.
They have all pleaded not guilty to charges of second degree murder and manslaughter, and will return to court in May. The officers were caught on camera beating Nichols on January 7 while arresting him for what they claimed was reckless driving.
Nichols died in the hospital three days later after extensive bleeding.
The hearing lasted only a few minutes before the case was adjourned today. The officers all wore COVID-19 masks that shielded their faces.
Outside the courtroom, an attorney for Desmond Mills Jr. told reporters that he was innocent.
Another attorney for Tadarrius Bean said his client ‘never struck’ Nichols.
Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith and their lawyers appeared with their lawyers before a judge in Shelby County Criminal Court in Memphis, Tennessee
Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith and their lawyers appeared before a judge in Shelby County Criminal Court in Memphis, Tennessee
Tyre Nichols, 29, died three days after being beaten by the five officers
‘Let’s not forget that my client is a black man in a courtroom in America which is a country where black people are incarcerated at five times the rate of white people.
‘A country where black people are 7.5 times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of murder than white people.
‘Much has been said about the ways the system has failed Mr. Nichols. I will work tirelessly to make sure the system does not fail Mr. Mills and that a fair outcome is achieved,’ Mills’ attorney Blake Ballins said.
‘I want to remind everyone that the resolution of this indictment to which Mr. Mills has plead not guilty, must be carried out without sympathy or prejudice.
‘It must be based on the facts and the law, and not the raw emotions that our country is currently experiencing.
‘Justice for Mr Nichols will not be achieved at the expense of justice for Mr. Mills.
‘We have a very long road of investigation and litigation ahead of us. I implore the public to be patient, to be cautious in judging Mr. Mills,’ he said.
Outside court, an attorney for Desmond Mills Jr. told reporters that he was innocent, and shouldn’t be ‘wrongfully convicted of murder’. ‘Much has been said about how the system has failed Mr. Nichols I will work to make sure the system does not fail Mr. Mills,’ Blake Ballins, the attorney, said
Tyre’s mother RowVaughn Wells said after the hearing that none of the police officers had the courage to look her in the eye
An attorney for Tadarius Bean also insisted his client was innocent, because he personally was not filmed striking Nichols.
Tyre Nichols died in the hospital three days after the arrest and beating
‘Tadarius Bean never touched him. He has the ability to make a lawful arrest. Tadarius Bean was doing his job. He never struck him.
‘There has been no information that we have seen that indicates that there’s any information we can rely on to say that it’s murder. He then ignored reporters’ questions about the damning video of Nichols’ arrest,’ he said.
Ahead of today’s hearing, Nichols’ mother told CNN she wanted the officers to see her face.
But afterwards, she said through tears that none of them had the courage to look directly at her.
‘I feel very numb right now. I am waiting for for somebody to wake me up from this nightmare. I also know, that that is not going to happen. I know my son is gone. I know I’ll never see him again.
‘But we have to start this process of justice right now. I want each and every one of these police officers to look me in the face – they haven’t done that yet.
They didn’t have the courage to look at me in my face after what they did to my son.
‘They’re going to see me at every court day until we get justice for my son.’
In addition to second-degree murder, the officers also have been charged with aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. They are all on bail.
The officers – many of them wearing the uniform of the Scorpions unit – stand around and chat while Nichols moans
Nichols lies on the ground – slumped against the car. By now the officers have largely lost interest
‘I feel very numb right now. I am waiting for for somebody to wake me up from this nightmare. I also know, that that is not going to happen. I know my son is gone. I know I’ll never see him again.
‘But we have to start this process of justice right now. I want each and every one of these police officers to look me in the face – they haven’t done that yet.
They didn’t have the courage to look at me in my face after what they did to my son.
‘They’re going to see me at every court day until we get justice for my son.’
Nichols’ death is the latest police killing to prompt nationwide protests and renew an intense public discussion about police brutality.
An officer hit Nichols with a stun gun, but Nichols ran away towards his nearby home, according to video released by the city.
Officers, who were part of a crime-suppression team known as the Scorpion unit caught up with Nichols and punched, kicked and slugged him with a baton as he yelled for his mother.
After the beating, officers stood by and talked to one another as Nichols struggled with his injuries on the ground, video showed. One officer took photos of Nichols as he was propped up against an unmarked police car, according to video and records.
Nichols was taken to a hospital in an ambulance that left the scene of the beating 27 minutes after emergency medical technicians arrived, authorities said.
Police said Nichols had been suspected of reckless driving, but no verified evidence of a traffic violation has emerged in public documents or in video images.
Memphis Police director Cerelyn “CJ” Davis has said she has seen no evidence justifying the stop or the officers’ response.
She disbanded the Scorpion unit, which she created in November 2021, after Nichols’ death.
One other white officer who was involved in the initial traffic stop has been fired. An additional officer who has not been identified has been suspended.
Three Memphis Fire Department employees who were present at the site of the arrest have also been fired.
Two Shelby County sheriff’s deputies who were also there have been suspended without pay for violations including failing to keep their body cameras on.
Nichols’ family, their lawyers, community leaders and activists have called for changes within the Police Department on issues related to traffic stops, use of force, transparency and other policies.
Some of the relatives and lawyers have praised Ms Davis and the department for the swiftness of their response and said it should be the standard for other investigations into police brutality.
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