Three former Memphis police officers were acquitted Wednesday of all state charges in the 2023 death of Tyre Nichols, a black man whose fatal encounter with police was caught on video and sparked national controversy.
A jury deliberated for just over eight hours before clearing Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith of second-degree murder and other charges.
The officers, all also black, claimed Nichols resisted arrest after fleeing a traffic stop near his mother’s home. Though they still face sentencing for federal convictions, the state verdict prompted fierce criticism from Nichols’ family attorneys, who called the outcome a “devastating miscarriage of justice.”