New trial for 3 ex-officers of Memphis sentenced as part of the death of Nichols tires
Memphis, tenn. – A judge ordered a new trial on Thursday for three former police officers from Memphis who were found guilty of federal accusations for the fatal strokes of Nichols shooting, after the defense lawyers argued that another judge who presided their trial was a supporter against the men.
The American district judge Sheryl H. Lipman made the order for a new trial for Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith, who were found guilty in October 2024 for obstruction of justice through the falsification of witnesses in the death which beats Nichols after having fled a traffic stop.
Two other officers, Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills Jr., were also charged, but they pleaded guilty before the federal trial.
Lipman resumed the case in June after the American district judge Mark S. Norris, who chaired the case and the trial, challenged himself a few days before the convictions for the five officers.
In a statement shared by his judicial office on Thursday, Norris said: “Due to the code of judicial conduct, I cannot make a declaration on this subject.”
On January 7, 2023, the police pulled nichols from his car, then sprayed the pepper and hit the 29 -year -old black man with a taser. Nichols fled, and when the five officers, who are also black, caught him, they hit, kicked and struck with a police stick. Nichols called for his mother during the blows, who did his home.
He died three days later.
A video of the blows captured by a police friend’s camera also showed that the police were walking, spoke and laughed while Nichols struggled with his injuries.
This caused a meticulous police exam to Memphis, national demonstrations and renewed calls for police reform.
Norris was confirmed as an American district judge in western Tennessee in October 2018 after being appointed by President Donald Trump.
The Republican of Collierville had been the head of the majority in the Senate of Tennessee since 2007. He was elected for the first time to the body in 2000, and his district included the county of Tipton and part of the county of Shelby.
