Ex-Memphis officers found not guilty: Catch up on Tyre Nichols civil case
After eight days of testimony and arguments, a Hamilton County jury acquitted three former Memphis police officers accused of killing Tyre Nichols when they beat him in January 2023.
The verdict came as a shock to onlookers and is sure to have ripple effects in the final leg of litigation relating to Nichols' death.
Here's what else was on the docket for the week of May 5.
The blanket not-guilty verdict Wednesday left family members — both the Nichols family and family of the now-acquitted officers — in tears. One of those officers' family members could be heard shouting, "Hallelujah, thank you Jesus," outside the courtroom.
Meanwhile, Ben Crump, the attorney representing Nichols' family, called the verdict a "devastating miscarriage of justice" and vowed to fight for justice through his $550 million civil lawsuit against the City of Memphis.
Later Wednesday, Memphis Mayor Paul Young and Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn "C.J." Davis called for healing and vowed to improve the department moving forward in a video posted to X, formerly Twitter.
Nichols' family did not speak after the verdict, but talked with media outside the National Civil Rights Museum on May 8. The press conference, and rally that followed, mirrored a much-smaller one that was held in the same spot before the nation knew Nichols by name.
"You know, on the night that my son was murdered, a lot of you don't know, but I felt my son's death in my stomach," RowVaughn Wells said. "I didn't realize all that pain that I was feeling was my son's life being taken away from that night. When they made that verdict yesterday, that was them taking my son's life away from me again."
A third motion to acquit his federal conviction has been denied for a former Memphis police officer tried in the Nichols federal case.
Tadarrius Bean was found guilty of witness tampering at trial, but the jury acquitted him of three other charges — using excessive force, being deliberately indifferent to Nichols' medical needs and conspiring to witness tamper. He could be sentenced up to 20 years for the witness tampering conviction.
There is no parole in the federal system, so he will serve his entire sentence in prison.
Bean filed the third motion to acquit following his conviction. Another former officer who joined Bean at trial, Justin Smith, Jr., also filed a third motion to acquit. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Judge Mark Norris denied Smith's motion to acquit in January.
In his reasoning for denying Bean's motion, Norris said federal prosecutors provided evidence that "a rational jury could find that defendant Bean engaged in misleading conduct by intentionally withholding material information."
From May 7: 'Miscarriage of justice.' Ex-Memphis police officers in Tyre Nichols case found not guilty
From May 7: Memphis mayor, police chief call for healing after not guilty verdict in Nichols case
From May 7: Key moments in the Tyre Nichols cases, as second criminal trial ends with acquittals
From May 5: Youth Villages, family of Alegend Jones reach settlment over teen's death under group's care
From April 23: Stage before acceptance: Will next criminal trial bring closure after Tyre Nichols' death?
Even as a verdict was delivered in the state trial for the officers accused of killing Nichols, the City of Memphis and attorneys representing RowVaughn Wells, Nichols' mother, were arguing to quash a subpoena served to Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn "C.J." Davis.
In a May 2 motion to quash, attorneys for the city argued that any subpoenas for Davis should be placed on hold while her status in the case is being decided. The city, in March, moved to dismiss the lawsuit against itself and Davis.
At the time, the city argued that discovery against Davis should be placed on hold pending a ruling on the motion to dismiss. The subpoena came weeks later, according to the city's most recent motion.
The new motion to quash argues along similar lines as the original motion to keep Davis away from discovery, noting that it would "impose an undue burden" on Davis. It also argues that the claims against Davis and the requests for documents are "virtually identical" to those the city received.
"Any documents produced to plaintiff will likely be used by plaintiff to support her claims against Chief Davis as well. Plaintiff also ignores the fact that plaintiff is seeking punitive damages from Chief Davis, individually, which presents a heightened financial to Chief Davis as a government official," the motion to quash read.
Ahead of the motion to quash, the city also filed motions to supplement its argument in an ongoing fight over confidentiality designations. The new motion to vacate the designations comes after a ruling at the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. That court supersedes the federal district court in Memphis.
That case, the city argued, bolstered the public's right to view federally filed court records and depositions.
In November 2024, the city filed documents alleging the Nichols family offered money to the mother of Nichols' son in exchange for giving up her right to oversee Nichols' estate.
It also alleged abuse toward the woman, citing her testimony. Court records from the Superior Court of California, in Yolo County, show that Nichols was charged with felony infliction of corporal injury and misdemeanor endangering the health of a child in 2017. Records show Nichols pleaded no contest to infliction of corporal injury and the felony count was reduced to a misdemeanor. The other charge was dismissed and Nichols was given a three-year probation and had to take a domestic violence class.
The fight over confidentiality designations extended to a broad request for phone records between Nichols and multiple people. The city has said the character evidence contained in the depositions and phone records could help in arguments over damages in the case, which the city said could "essentially bankrupt" it.
Attorneys for Nichols' family have fired back, saying the city is trying to "poison the jury pool" against Nichols and his family. Many filings that substantially talk about those records have since been sealed by the court.
Do you have a burning public safety question you want answered? Send an email to metro@commercialappeal.com or lucas.finton@commercialappeal.com.
Lucas Finton covers crime, policing, jails, the courts and criminal justice policy for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by phone or email: (901)208-3922 and Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com, and followed on X @LucasFinton.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Catching up on the Tyre Nichols civil lawsuit after not-guilty verdict
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