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Three ex-Memphis officers guilty of witness tampering in fatal beating

Police kick and punch Tyre Nichols during violent arrest in Memphis

Three former police officers have been found guilty of witness tampering in the death of a 29-year-old man who was beaten during a traffic stop last year in Memphis, Tennessee.

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith were among five officers who punched, kicked and hit Tyre Nichols on 7 January 2023. The other two already pleaded guilty.

Bean, Haley and Smith were all found guilty of one count of obstructing justice by witness tampering, but all three were cleared of the most serious counts of civil rights violations that could have resulted in life in prison.

All officers fired and charged in the case are black, as was Mr Nichols.

AFP A photograph of Tyre Nichols is displayed at a memorialAFP

The federal court jury delivered their verdict on Thursday after about six hours of deliberations following a nearly month-long trial.

The trio face up to 20 years in prison when they are due to be sentenced on 22 January.

In addition to the witness tampering, Haley was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit witness tampering.

Attorneys for the Nichols family praised the outcome, saying in a statement: "The guilty verdicts reached today send a powerful message that law enforcement officers who commit crimes will be held accountable under the law."

"Tyre should be alive today," continued lawyers Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, "and while nothing can bring him back, today’s guilty verdicts bring a measure of accountability for his senseless and tragic death."

Speaking outside the courthouse after the verdict, RowVaughn Wells, Mr Nichols’s mother, and his stepfather, Rodney Wells, said they were grateful for the jury's decision.

“This has been a long journey for our family," Ms Wells told US media. "I’m still in shock right now. We’re happy that they’ve all been convicted and they’ve been arrested.”

The five officers were members of the Memphis police department's Scorpion Task Force, a since-disbanded street unit that was tasked with bringing down crime levels in the city.

Video footage of the incident shows Mr Nichols being pulled over by police for alleged reckless driving.

A scuffle develops and officers use pepper spray and a Taser on Mr Nichols as he breaks free.

The five policemen caught up with him about a block away and began to assault him as he cried out for his mother.

He died three days later, with a post-mortem examination ruling it a homicide from blunt-force trauma.

Getty Images A photograph of Nichols and his son displayed at his funeral in February 2023Getty Images
A photograph of Nichols and his son displayed at his funeral in February 2023

A statement released by the US Department of Justice after the verdict said that the officers' decision not to tell medical responders about the multiple blows Mr Nichols had received to his head directly contributed to his death.

"A medical emergency responder testified that had they been told that Nichols’ injuries were caused by strikes to the head, they would have significantly altered their course of care," the statement said.

The two other officers, Emmit Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr, pleaded guilty to federal civil rights and conspiracy charges in relation to Mr Nichols’s death.

The five officers are also facing second-degree murder charges in Tennessee state court. A trial date for that case has not yet been set.

Mr Nichols’s family has sued the city of Memphis for $550m (£420m) over their son’s death.