Jury from Hamilton County to hear case against 3 Memphis police officers charged in Tyre Nichols’ murder
A judge ruled that a jury from the East Tennessee county will be seated in the state court trial of three former police officers charged with second-degree murder.
Author: Associated Press, Local 3 News Staff
Published: 10:51 AM EDT April 23, 2025
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A jury of Hamilton County residents will be selected to hear the case against three former Memphis police officers charged with second-degree murder in the beating death of Tyre Nichols after a traffic stop in 2023.
According to NBC Memphis affiliate WMC, the jury will be sequestered and hear the case in Memphis. The trial is scheduled to begin April 28.
The accused former Memphis Police Department officers, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith have pleaded not guilty in Nichols’ death, Local 3 reports.
Two other officers, Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills Jr., also have been charged with second-degree murder but will not stand trial with their former colleagues. They are expected to change their not guilty pleas in state court, according to lawyers involved in the case.
Nichols was stopped by police for an alleged traffic violation in January 2023 and was pulled out of his car by officers who used profanity, with at least one brandishing a gun. An officer hit Nichols with a stun gun, but Nichols ran away toward his nearby home, according to video footage released by the city.
Officers who were part of a crime-suppression team known as Scorpion caught up with Nichols and punched him, kicked him and slugged him with a baton as he yelled for his mother. Nichols died three days after suffering the beating. His death led to national protests and an increase in the call for additional police reform.