Closing arguments were delivered Wednesday in the case of the three former Memphis police officers who were charged in the January 2023 beating death of Tyre Nichols.
The jury pool in the federal trial is made up of seven men and seven women, including white, Black and Asian jurors.
The jury is set to begin deliberations this week after the prosecution and the attorneys for the three former officers conclude their closing arguments, which began on Wednesday afternoon.
Federal prosecutor Kathryn Gilbert said during her closing arguments that the officers laughed and bragged about beating Nichols and did not call medics to the scene because they wanted to get away with what they did and protect themselves.
Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean were charged on Sept. 12, 2023, with violating Nichols’ civil rights through excessive use of force, unlawful assault, failing to intervene in the assault and failing to render medical aid. These charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The officers have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
“They wanted it to be a beatdown,” Gilbert told the jury of the three former officers.
“You are what stands between them and getting away with it,” she added.
Haley, Smith and Bean were among five former officers who were charged in this case.
Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr., the two other officers who were also charged, pleaded guilty to some of the federal charges.
Mills pleaded guilty to two of the four counts in the indictment — excessive force and failing to intervene, as well as conspiring to cover up his use of unlawful force, according to the DOJ. The government said it will recommend a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, based on the terms of Mills’ plea agreement.
Martin pleaded guilty to excessive force and failure to intervene, as well as conspiracy to witness tamper, according to court records. The other two charges will be dropped at sentencing, which has been scheduled for Dec. 5, according to the court records.
Mills testified during the federal trial of the three officers and got emotional when he took the stand.
“I wish I would’ve stopped the punches. It hurts to watch. It hurts inside so much,” said Mills, who cried during his testimony, according to ABC affiliate in Memphis, WATN. “It felt bad every time the picture is on the screen to know I’m a part of that. I made his child fatherless. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I know ‘sorry’ won’t bring him back, but I pray his child has everything he needs growing up.”
Martin also testified in the officer’s federal trial and took the stand on Sept. 17.
“They were assaulting [Tyre Nichols],” Martin said of his former partners, according to WATN. “I was already angry that he ran. I kicked him … They [his former partners] were holding him up. He was helpless.”
Body-camera footage shows that Nichols fled after police pulled him over on Jan. 7, 2023, for allegedly driving recklessly, then shocked him with a Taser and pepper-sprayed him.
Officers allegedly then beat Nichols minutes later after tracking him down. After the police encounter, Nichols was transferred to the hospital in critical condition.
Nichols, 29, died in the hospital on Jan. 10, 2023. Footage shows the officers walking around, talking to each other as Nichols was injured and sitting on the ground.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said she has been unable to substantiate that Nichols was driving recklessly. The incident triggered protests and calls for police reform.
After the police encounter, Nichols was transferred to the hospital in critical condition. The medical examiner’s official autopsy report for Nichols showed he “died of brain injuries from blunt force trauma,” the district attorney’s office told Nichols’ family in May 2023.
The prosecution told ABC News earlier this month that they will not have any statements until after the trial. The defense attorneys did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
The five former officers charged in this case were all members of the Memphis Police Department SCORPION unit — a crime suppression unit that was disbanded after Nichols’ death. All of the officers were fired for violating MPD policies.
ABC News’ Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.
In a shocking turn of events, the prosecutor in the Tyre Nichols trial presented evidence of officers laughing and bragging during their closing arguments. The trial, which has been closely followed by the public, has sparked outrage and disbelief at the behavior of law enforcement officials involved in the case.
During the trial, Nichols, a young African American man, was accused of a crime he maintains he did not commit. Throughout the proceedings, there have been allegations of police misconduct and racial bias in the handling of the case. However, it was not until the closing arguments that concrete evidence of this behavior was brought to light.
The prosecutor played audio recordings and video footage showing officers laughing and making derogatory remarks about Nichols and his defense team. In one particularly disturbing clip, an officer can be heard boasting about how they “got away with it” and mocking Nichols’ claims of innocence.
This evidence has raised serious questions about the integrity of the investigation and the fairness of the trial. It has also reignited concerns about systemic racism within law enforcement and the criminal justice system as a whole.
The prosecutor argued that this behavior is not only unprofessional but also undermines the credibility of the entire case against Nichols. They called for a mistrial and for an investigation into the conduct of the officers involved.
The defense team has also seized on this new evidence, arguing that it proves their client was unfairly targeted and treated with bias from the start. They have called for all charges against Nichols to be dropped and for a full review of the case.
As the trial comes to a close, the public is left wondering how such behavior could have gone unchecked and what impact it may have had on the outcome of the case. The revelations in the closing arguments have shed light on a troubling aspect of our criminal justice system and have sparked a renewed call for accountability and reform.
