Tyre Nichols: Former US police officers who pleaded not guilty to murder ‘did not have courage’ to look his mother in the face
The five former Memphis police officers who pleaded not guilty to the second-degree murder of Tyre Nichols did not have “the courage to look me in my face,” his mother has said.
Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression in their first court appearance before a judge in Shelby County Criminal Court.
They were fired after an internal police investigation into the arrest of Mr Nichols in January.
Tyre Nichols trial – as it happened: Officer involved in deadly arrest ‘just doing his job’
Clockwise from top left: Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III, Tadarrius Bean and Justin Smith
Tyre Nichols
Speaking outside the court Mr Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, said the officers “didn’t have the courage to look me in my face” but they were “going to see me at every court date – every one – until we get justice for my son.”
She said she felt “very numb” and was waiting for “somebody to wake her up” from the nightmare.
“I know my son is gone. I know I’ll never see him again. But we have to start this process of justice right now.”
The five former officers are free on bond and are due back in court on 1 May.
Mr Nichols, 29, was stopped for an alleged traffic violation and pulled out of his car by officers who swore at him, with at least one brandishing a gun, records showed.
One officer hit Mr Nichols with a stun gun but Mr Nichols ran away towards his home, according to video footage.
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‘Why did you beat Tyre Nichols to his death?’
Scorpion unit punched, kicked and hit Nichols with a baton
Officers who were part of a crime-suppression team known as the Scorpion unit caught up with Mr Nichols and punched, kicked and hit him with a baton as he shouted for his mother.
After the beating the officers stood by and talked to one another as Mr Nichols struggled with his injuries on the ground, video showed.
Family lawyer Ben Crump, Tyre Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, and stepfather, Rodney Wells. Pic: AP
Officer took photos after beating
One officer took photos of Mr Nichols as he was propped against an unmarked police car, according to video and records.
Mr Nichols was taken to hospital in an ambulance some 27 minutes after emergency medical technicians arrived, authorities said.
He died in hospital three days later.
A sixth police officer, who is white, was also fired, along with three Memphis Fire Department emergency medical technicians who arrived after Mr Nichols was beaten. Two Shelby County sheriff’s deputies who responded to the scene were suspended for five days without pay.
Elon Musk has stepped up his attacks on Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill – weeks after a spectacular fallout between the world’s richest man and the US president.
Following weeks of relative silence after clashing with Mr Trump over his “big beautiful bill”, the billionaire vowed to unseat politicians who support it.
In a post on X, Musk said those who had campaigned on cutting spending but then backed the bill “should hang their heads in shame”.
He added: “And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”
Musk also threatened to put their faces on a poster which said “liar” and “voted to increase America’s debt” by $5trn (£3.6trn).
The posts attracted a swift reply from Mr Trump, who claimed the billionaire “may get more subsidy than any human being in history” for his electric car business.
“Without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!”
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Elon’s dad on the Musk-Trump bust-up
Musk spent at least $250m (£182m) supporting Mr Trump in his presidential campaign and then led the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which sacked about 120,000 federal employees.
He has argued the legislation would greatly increase the US national debt and wipe out the savings he claimed he achieved through DOGE.
As the Senate discussed the package, Musk called it “utterly insane and destructive”.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO said the bill’s massive spending indicated “we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!!”
“Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people,” he wrote.
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Musk previously said some of his social media posts during his dramatic fallout with Mr Trump “went too far”.
He had shared a series of posts on X, including one that described Mr Trump’s tax and spending bill as a “disgusting abomination”.
He also claimed, in a since-deleted post, that the president appeared in files relating to the disgraced paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
But Musk later wrote: “I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far.”
In response, the president told the New York Post: “I thought it was very nice that he did that.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting Donald Trump next Monday, according to US officials.
The visit on 7 July comes after Mr Trump suggested it was possible a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached within a week.
On Sunday, he wrote on social media: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”
At least 60 people killed across Gaza on Monday, in what turned out to be some of the heaviest attacks in weeks.
Benjamin Netanyahu, left, with Donald Trump during a previous meeting. Pic: Reuters
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 56,500 people have been killed in the 20-month war.
The visit by Mr Netanyahu to Washington has not been formally announced and the officials who said it would be going ahead spoke on condition of anonymity.
An Israeli official in Washington also confirmed the meeting next Monday.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was in constant communication with the Israeli government.
She said Mr Trump viewed ending the war in Gaza and returning remaining hostages held by Hamas as a top priority.
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The war in Gaza broke out in retaliation for Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw a further 250 taken hostage.
An eight-week ceasefire was reached in the final days of Joe Biden’s US presidency, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.
Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled over whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire.
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