Ex-officers charged in Nichols’ death plead not guilty

Five former Memphis police officers pleaded not guilty Friday to second-degree murder and other charges in the violent arrest and death of Tyre Nichols, with his mother saying afterward that none of them would look her in the eye.

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith made their first court appearances with their lawyers before a judge in Shelby County Criminal Court. The officers were fired after an internal police investigation into the Jan. 7 arrest of Nichols, who died in a hospital three days later. His beating was caught on video.

At a news conference after the hearing, Nichols’ mother, Rowvaughn Wells, said that the officers didn’t have the courage to look her in the eye, but that “they’re going to see me at every court date — every one — until we get justice for my son.”

The officers pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. They are all out on bond.

The Nichols case is the latest to prompt nationwide protests and

renew an intense public discussion about police brutality. Nichols, 29, was Black. All five officers charged in his death also are Black.

Addressing the courtroom, Judge James Jones Jr. asked for everyone’s “continued patience” and “continued civility,” stressing that “this case can take some time.”

Bean’s attorney, John Keith Perry, spoke with reporters afterward, saying Bean was doing his job at that time and “never touched” Nichols. That assertion is contradicted by video footage.

Protester Casio Montez talked over Perry, saying Nichols’ death was murder: “You represent a murderer, bro.”

Nichols was stopped by police for an alleged traffic violation and was pulled out of his car by officers who used profanity, with at least one brandishing a gun. An officer hit Nichols with a stun gun, but Nichols ran away toward his nearby home, according to video footage released by the city.

Officers who were part of a crime-suppression team known as Scorpion caught up with Nichols and punched him, kicked him and slugged him with a baton as he yelled for his mother.

After the beating, officers stood by and talked with one another as Nichols struggled with his injuries on the ground, video showed.

ADRIAN SAINZ/ASSOCIATED PRESS Attorney Ben Crump (left); Tyre Nichols’ mother, Rowvaughn Wells; and stepfather, Rodney Wells, exit the courthouse Friday in Memphis, Tennessee. Five former Memphis police officers pleaded not guilty Friday in the violent arrest and death of Nichols.