A federal jury in Tennessee convicted three former Memphis police officers of witness tampering related to the beating death of Tyre Nichols, but acquitted them of the more serious charges that could have led to life imprisonment, Reuters reports.
Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was brutally beaten by five Black officers during a traffic stop in January 2023 and died three days later. The incident, captured on police video, caused widespread outrage and called for police reform. Demetrius Haley, one of the officers, was convicted on two counts of deprivation of rights resulting in bodily injury and two witness tampering charges. The other officers, Tadarrius Bean and Justin Smith, were each convicted of one count of witness tampering. They face up to 20 years in prison for the tampering charges. Two other former officers had already pleaded guilty and testified against them.
The officers are also facing second-degree murder charges in a separate Tennessee state court case, which has been postponed until the federal trial concluded. Prosecutors argued that the officers not only severely beat Nichols but also attempted to cover it up. Defense attorneys attributed the incident to “poor training and policies.”
