Tyre Nichols: Trial date set for 5 former Memphis cops charged with fatal battery

Five Memphis, Tennessee police officers charged in connection with the death of Tyre Nichols will stand trial in mid-February, Fox News reports.

Court records show that they are due February 17 to “arraign.”

The hearing will take place at 10 a.m. ET in front of Shelby County Criminal Court Judge James Jones.

Five former officers – Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith – were fired on January 18. Each of them faces seven charges: second-degree murder; aggravated assault, act in concert; two cases of aggravated kidnapping; two counts of misconduct in office; and official oppression.

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Memphis Police Department officers Demetrius Haley, Tadarrius Bean, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills and Justin Smith were fired January 18 for their role in the arrest of the late Tyre Nichols.

Memphis Police Department officers Demetrius Haley, Tadarrius Bean, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills and Justin Smith were fired January 18 for their role in the arrest of the late Tyre Nichols.
(Memphis Police Department)

According to a local criminal defense lawyer not involved in the case, who spoke with Fox News, setting a trial date nearly three weeks in advance is considered normal. The lawyer noted that all five former officers are already on bail and are no longer in custody.

On Friday, officials released footage of Nichols, a 29-year-old FedEx driver, being beaten by five Memphis police officers on Jan. 7.

Nichols died in hospital three days after his arrest.

Police Director Serelyn “CJ” Davis, who just 20 months ago became the first woman to lead the Memphis chapter, finally disbanded the city’s so-called Scorpion division on Saturday.

From left to right, Desmond Mills, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith, Emmitt Martin and Tadarrius Bean.

From left to right, Desmond Mills, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith, Emmitt Martin and Tadarrius Bean.
(Shelby County Jail)

The New York Post reported that at least two of the five officers charged in Nichols’ death were hired after the Memphis Police Department relaxed eligibility requirements.

According to NBC News, Bean and Haley joined the department in August 2020. It comes about two months after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked anti-police riots across the country. It’s also been two years since the Memphis Police Department changed some of the qualifications required to become a police officer.

In 2018, Action 5 reported that new Memphis police recruits no longer required an associate’s degree or 54 college credit hours to enroll. Five years of experience will suffice.

This photo, courtesy of the Nichols family, shows Tyre Nichols, who had a passion for photography and was described by friends as joyful and sweet.  Nichols was just minutes from his home in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 7, 2023, when he was pulled over by police and beaten to death.  Since then, five Memphis police officers have been charged with second-degree murder and other crimes.

This photo, courtesy of the Nichols family, shows Tyre Nichols, who had a passion for photography and was described by friends as joyful and sweet. Nichols was just minutes from his home in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 7, 2023, when he was pulled over by police and beaten to death. Since then, five Memphis police officers have been charged with second-degree murder and other crimes.
(Contributed by the Nichols family via AP)

The Post also reported that Haley, who at the time was a corrections officer with the Shelby County Department of Corrections, was accused of beating an inmate who had been smuggling eight years earlier. Haley denied in court documents allegations that he assaulted Cordarrius Sledge, who was serving a three-year sentence for aggravated assault, in May 2015.

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The lawsuit was dismissed in 2018 before being assessed on its merits after Sledge failed to provide the requested information to the court.

Landon Mion of Fox News contributed to this report.

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