Tyre Nichols death: Memphis police officers guilty of lesser federal charges – but still face state murder case

Published

2 months ago

October 4, 2024

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Three police officers have been convicted of witness tampering in the case of Tyre Nichols, who died after a prolonged beating during a traffic stop in Memphis.

However, they were cleared of civil rights charges that could have seen them locked up for life.

Mr Nichols, a father of one, died three days after officers punched, kicked and hit him with a baton in January 2023 as he was just yards from his home.

The 29-year-old’s death and a video of the incident – in which he cried out for his mother – sparked outrage in the US and led to police reform.

One of the officers, Demetrius Haley, was found guilty on two counts of “deprivation of rights resulting in bodily injury” – each of which carries a maximum 10-year sentence.

But the federal jury decided that offence did not result in Mr Nichols’ death, ruling out a possible life sentence.

Haley was also found guilty of two counts of witness tampering; while the other two officers, Tadarrius Bean and Justin Smith, were convicted on one witness tampering count but cleared of the civil rights charges.

Two other officers had already pleaded guilty and testified against their colleagues, saying Mr Nichols had posed no threat.

All five of the men – who are all black – have been fired, and are also charged with second-degree murder in a state case, where they have pleaded not guilty. That trial has not yet begun.

Prosecutor Kathryn Gilbert told the court on Wednesday the officers tried to cover up what they did and never gave Mr Nichols any medical help.

“This wasn’t one punch. It was over and over and over and over and over again, and not one of these defendants tried to stop it,” Ms Gilbert said.

The court heard the officers had lied about the force they used – to medics treating Mr Nichols, their superviser and in written reports.

Jurors also heard they had claimed they pulled over Mr Nichols for driving dangerously, saying he had sped up to beat a red light.

Video showed them beating him for three minutes after he broke free and ran off when he was initially stopped.

A post-mortem showed he died from being hit in the head and sustained brain injuries, cuts and bruises, with haemorrhages throughout his body.

Case fuelled America’s challenges with policing

This verdict was in the federal case against three of the officers. All five officers have been charged with second-degree murder in a separate state-level case which is yet to go to trial.

The jury was asked to consider four counts. Two of the four carried a lesser count as an option for the jury.

Count 1 – Deprivation of Rights under Colour of the Law: Excessive Force & Failure to Intervene. (Lesser involving bodily injury).

Count 2 – Deprivation of Rights under Colour of the Law: Deliberate Indifference. (Lesser involving bodily injury).

Count 3 – Conspiracy to Witness Tamper.

Count 4 – Obstruction of Justice: Witness Tampering.

Lawyers for the three former policemen built separate cases to defend their clients. They sought to sow doubt about the quality of the officers’ training and the varying degrees of culpability for their actions.

They also sought to divert blame to the other two of the five officers involved – Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr – who both pleaded guilty to the same charges.

None of the three were found guilty of the first two counts but Demetrius Haley was convicted of the lesser counts for each.

The case fuelled America’s challenges with policing and institutional racism but the fact that the officers and victim were all black added a different dimension.

While some suggested it undermined the accusation of racism, others argued that it furthered the evidence of racism being deeply ingrained within American policing.

Diversity is often cited as the key solution to reduce racial bias within policing.

But according to research by the Harvard Law Review, it is the ingrained culture of a department and the race of the people being policed which are far more consequential in how events play out.

The Harvard research, conducted in 2018, concluded: “Whether or not police officers are policing their own, if the broader structural forces… remain the same, the racial dimensions of policing with which the nation continues to grapple are likely to persist”.

The defence tried to paint Mr Nichols as the main aggressor but one of the officers who agreed a plea deal, Emmitt Martin, testified he was not a threat and was “helpless” as they beat him.

He said the officers had understood afterwards “they weren’t going to tell on me, and I wasn’t going to tell on them”.

Desmond Mills, the other officer who took a plea deal, gave a tearful testimony saying he was sorry.

He said he participated in a cover-up hoping Mr Nichols would survive and the case would “blow over”.

The US Justice Department is conducting several reviews into Memphis police, including examining its use of force, how it conducts arrests, and whether it carries out racially discriminatory policing.

Mr Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, is also suing the city and its police chief for $550m (£419m).

After Thursday’s verdict, she told reporters: “This has been a long journey for our family.

“I’m actually in shock right now because I still can’t believe all the stuff that’s going on. But we’re happy that they all have been convicted and they have been arrested.”

US

Donald Trump on day one: Pace of change ‘like nothing you’ve seen in history’, warns campaign official

Published

10 hours ago

November 21, 2024

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Donald Trump on day one: Pace of change 'like nothing you've seen in history', warns campaign official

Within hours of taking office, president-elect Donald Trump plans to begin rolling out policies including large-scale deportations, according to his transition team.

Sky News partner network NBC News has spoken with more than half a dozen people familiar with the executive orders that his team plans to enact.

One campaign official said changes are expected at a pace that is “like nothing you’ve seen in history”, to signal a dramatic break from President Joe Biden’s administration.

Mr Trump is preparing on day one to overturn specific policies put in place by Mr Biden. Among the measures, reported by sources close to the transition team, are:

• The speedy and large-scale deportations of illegal immigrants

• Ending travel reimbursement for military members seeking abortion care

• Restricting transgender service members’ access to gender-affirming care

But much of the first day is likely to focus on stopping illegal immigration – the centrepiece of Trump’s candidacy. He is expected to sign up to five executive orders aimed at dealing with that issue alone after he is sworn in on 20 January.

“There will without question be a lot of movement quickly, likely day one, on the immigration front,” a top Trump ally said.

“There will be a push to make a huge early show and assert himself to show his campaign promises were not hollow.”

But Mr Trump’s campaign pledges also could be difficult to implement.

Deporting people on the scale he wants will be a logistical challenge that could take years. Questions also remain about promised tax cuts.

Meanwhile, his pledge to end the war between Russia and Ukraine in just 24 hours would be near impossible.

Even so, advisers based at Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort or at nearby offices in West Palm Beach, Florida, are reportedly strategising about ending the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Following his decisive victory on 5 November, the president-elect has moved swiftly to build a cabinet and senior White House team.

As of Thursday, he had selected more than 30 people for senior positions in his administration, compared with just three at a similar point in his 2016 transition.

Stephen Moore, a senior economic adviser in Mr Trump’s campaign, told NBC News: “The thing to realise is Trump is no dummy.

“He knows he’s got two to three years at most to get anything done. And then he becomes a lame duck and we start talking about [the presidential election in] 2028.”

US

Trump pick Matt Gaetz withdraws from consideration to be US attorney general

Published

15 hours ago

November 21, 2024

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Trump pick Matt Gaetz withdraws from consideration to be US attorney general

Donald Trump ally Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his name from consideration to be the next US attorney general.

Mr Gaetz, a controversial pick to be the country’s top legal official, said his selection was “unfairly becoming a distraction” to the transition of Mr Trump’s administration into the White House.

The Florida Republican had faced significant scrutiny over a federal investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving a 17-year-old girl.

He said in a post on the X social media platform: “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as attorney general. Trump’s DOJ (Department of Justice) must be in place and ready on Day 1.

“I remain fully committed to seeing that Donald Trump is the most successful president in history. I will forever be honoured that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.”

Mr Trump said in a post on his own social media site, Truth Social, that Mr Gaetz had a “wonderful future”.

“I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General,” he wrote.

“He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the administration, for which he has much respect.”

Mr Gaetz previously faced a nearly three-year Justice Department investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving a 17-year-old girl, which ended in February 2023 without him facing any criminal charges.

He has always denied the allegations.

He has also been under scrutiny by the House Ethics Committee over wider allegations including sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and accepting improper gifts.

The inquiry was dropped on Wednesday 13 November when Mr Gaetz left Congress – the only forum where the committee has jurisdiction.

The Senate ethics committee is deadlocked on whether their report can be released.

Mr Gaetz’s withdrawal is a blow to Mr Trump’s push to install steadfast loyalists in his incoming administration and the first sign that he could face resistance from members of his own party.

US

Dad who called 911 for help during break-in killed by Las Vegas police officer

Published

17 hours ago

November 21, 2024

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Dad who called 911 for help during break-in killed by Las Vegas police officer

A 43-year-old man was shot dead by police after calling 911 to report intruders had entered his home in Las Vegas.

Brandon Durham was at home with his 15-year-old daughter when he called the emergency line to report armed intruders were trying to break into his property on 12 November.

Bodycam footage shows Mr Durham struggling with a person over a knife in the moments before he was shot and killed at the scene.

“The loss of life in any type of incident like this is always tragic, and it’s something we take very seriously,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said on Thursday.

The force is investigating the incident.

Mr Durham called 911 to report multiple people were outside shooting at his residence in Las Vegas’ Sunset Park neighbourhood, where he had been staying with his 15-year-old daughter, Sky News’ US partner network NBC reports.

It was one of multiple emergency calls reporting a shooting in the area.

Mr Durham then said someone had managed to get into his home through the front and back doors of the property and he was locking himself in the bathroom, according to a police statement from 14 November, two days after the incident.

Officers reported to the scene at approximately 12:40am and could hear screaming from inside the residence.

One of the officers, Alexander Bookman, kicked open the front door and once inside, saw Mr Durham and another individual, later identified as 31-year-old Alejandra Boudreaux, struggling over a knife in a doorway.

Mr Bookman ordered them to drop the knife and about two seconds later, the officer fired the gun and Mr Durham appeared to be struck, the bodycam footage shows.

Both Mr Durham and Mr Boudreaux fell to the ground and the officer fired another five shots. Roughly three seconds are believed to have gone by between the first and last shot, NBC reports.

Attempts were made to save the 43-year-old but he died at the scene.

Ms Boudreaux was taken into custody and is facing charges of home invasion with a deadly weapon; assault with a deadly weapon domestic violence; willful or wanton disregard of safety of persons resulting in death; and child abuse, neglect or endangerment.