What happens next in Tyre Nichols case?

The three former Memphis police officers acquitted of charges in state court in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols still face the prospect of years in prison.

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith were found not guilty on all charges in a Tennessee courtroom, including second-degree murder, on Wednesday after a nine-day trial, more than two years after Nichols was punched, kicked, and pepper-sprayed after fleeing from a traffic stop in January 2023.

The defendants hugged their lawyers upon hearing the jury’s verdict as a supporter of one of the former officers cried out: “Thank you, Jesus!”

Despite Wednesday’s events, Bean, Haley, and Smith were convicted in a federal trial in October last year, but acquitted of the harshest charges of violating Nichols’ civil rights by causing his death.

A federal grand jury found the three guilty of witness tampering, with Haley being found guilty of violating the victim’s civil rights by causing bodily injury.

Two other Memphispolice officers – Desmond Mills Jr and Emmitt Martin – pleaded guilty to state charges, avoiding trial, and all federal charges. They ultimately went on to testify against the three officers who maintained their innocence.

All five men were part of a crime suppression team called the Scorpion Unit, which was disbanded after Nichols’ death. A sixth officer at the scene, Preston Hemphill, was never charged.

Bean and Smith face up to 20 years in prison while Haley faces life behind bars. Sentencing for all five defendants in the federal trial is expected later this year.

Nichols’ death led to nationwide protests, calls for police reforms in the U.S., and intense scrutiny of police in Memphis, a majority-Black city.

The 29-year-old victim fled from a traffic stop on January 7, 2023, after he was yanked out of his car, pepper-sprayed, and fired at with a stun gun. Nichols broke free and ran toward his mother’s home, calling out her name.

The officers caught up with him and restrained, punching, kicking, and hitting Nichols with a police baton.

Nichols died in the hospital three days later from blunt-force trauma to the head. He had tearing and rupturing in his brain and had suffered cuts and bruising all over his body, medical examiners said.

Shocking footage of the beating captured by a police pole camera also showed the officers milling about, talking and laughing as Nichols struggled.

Prosecutors argued that the officers used excessive force in trying to handcuff Nichols during the traffic stop.

The officers also had a duty to intervene and stop the beating and tell medical personnel that Nichols had been struck in the head, but they failed to do so, prosecutors said.

In closing arguments, which concluded on Tuesday, prosecutor Melanie Headley said that the footage showed “it's five officers acting together.”

Defense attorneys argued that Nichols was actively resisting arrest by running away and failing to give his hands to officers so that he could be handcuffed. They also have argued that their use of force complied with police department policies.

Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, filed a $550 million civil lawsuit against the city of Memphis and its police department in April 2023 – a sum the city stated in filings could bankrupt it.

Wells argued her son’s death was the result of “unconstitutional policies, practices, customs, and deliberate indifference by the City of Memphis” and its police leadership.

The civil case, which has been on hold while the criminal cases were pending, is scheduled to go to trial in July 2026.

Attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Nichols family, released a statement after Wednesday’s state trial concluded, noting: “We remain fiercely committed to civil justice and ask for your continued support as we press forward with the civil trial and push for meaningful, lasting reforms needed to stop the cycle of police brutality.”