WASHINGTON – Five former police officers pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges they murdered Tyre Nichols, a young black man who died after a beating in the southern United States city of Memphis, Tennessee.
Videos showed the officers, who are all black, repeatedly kicking and punching Nichols during a traffic stop close to his home on January 7, three days before he died in hospital.
Attorneys representing the defendants, all of whom were fired after the incident, entered the pleas in a brief hearing for the case, which has again drawn national attention to the issues of police abuse and mistreatment of African Americans.
The five officers were charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, kidnapping, official misconduct and “official oppression”.
Judge James Jones warned the defendants and the family of Nichols present in court that the trial could be long and involve “high emotions”, and urged “civility” for those connected to the proceedings.
“Everyone involved wants this case to be concluded as quickly as possible. But it’s important for you all to understand that the state of Tennessee as well as each one of these defendants have an absolute right to a fair trial,” he said.
Adding that there is a large amount of evidence to be collected, Jones set the next court date for May 1.
After the hearing, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the Nichols family, said the substantial video evidence implicating the officers should enable a speedy trial.
“It’s important that we move swiftly towards justice,” Crump said.
“When people in our community do something on video, it doesn’t take a long time to prosecute them.”
At the White House, spokesman Karine Jean-Pierre also encouraged an expeditious trial.
“His whole family deserves a swift, full and transparent investigation,” she said.
Still numb
Nichols’ mother RowVaughn Wells said she still feels “numb” over the death of her son.
“I know my son is gone. I know I’ll never see him again. But we have to start this process of justice,” Wells said.
She added that she plans to attend every court session to ensure the former officers “can know that we’re here”.
“I want each and every one of those police officers to be able to look me in the face. They haven’t done that yet, they could even do that today,” she said.
Nichols, 29, was stopped by members of a special police anti-crime squad called the Scorpion Unit in Memphis on January 7 for an alleged traffic violation, according to police.
The reason the officers stopped him remains unknown.
Nichols was beaten viciously by police in scenes recorded in body camera and security camera footage that triggered outrage when it was made public late last month.
Besides the five officers charged with second-degree murder, a sixth one has been fired and other officials, including three firefighters, have been suspended.
Police unit ‘pattern’
Crump flatly rejected media reports that a motive for the traffic stop involved Nichols’ alleged friendship with a woman who had had a relationship with one of the officers.
“All these rumours that are circulating are bogus and untrue,” said Crump.
“This ancillary matter has nothing to do with the reason why this happened to Tyre Nichols,” he said.
“The Scorpion Unit had a pattern and practice of doing this to black people in Memphis. That’s it.”
Nichols was buried on February 1 in a ceremony attended by Vice-President Kamala Harris.
“This is a family that lost their son and their brother through an act of violence at the hands and the feet of people who had been charged with keeping them safe,” she told the gathering at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church. – AFP, February 18, 2023
