A former officer on trial over the brutal beating death of a Black motorist was found guilty of civil rights offenses Thursday in US federal court, while two others were convicted on charges of witness tampering.
All three were cleared of the most serious charge they faced, which would have held them responsible for the death of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols. But they still face long prison sentences, up to 20 years, after the felony convictions.
A total of five Black police officers were charged in connection with the January 2023 death of Nichols, who was kicked, punched, tased and pepper sprayed after a traffic stop in Memphis, Tennessee in an assault captured on surveillance and police body-cam video.
Two of them pleaded guilty to felony civil rights charges while three more — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith — chose to go to trial on charges that included depriving Nichols of his rights through excessive force.
The jury spent three weeks repeatedly watching the video, including graphic clips in which the officers punch and kick Nichols and hit him with a police baton near his home as he called out for his mother.