
Judge allows jurors to see use-of-force reports in federal trial for ex-officers in Tyre Nichols case
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – A Memphis Police Department trainer told the jury Friday that the former officers accused in the beating death of Tyre Nichols left out key details in their use-of-force reports.
Friday marked day five in the federal trial against former MPD officers Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean, who pleaded not guilty to their federal civil rights charges.
Former officers Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr. previously pleaded guilty to their charges.
The jury got a late start Friday as lawyers spent the morning privately arguing about whether the officers’ use-of-force reports, also known as Response to Resistance reports, should be admissible in court.
Prosecutors said it was vital for their case, but the defense wanted it to be sealed. The judge overruled the defense’s motion, saying the matter should’ve been addressed during pre-trial hearings.
The judge also said that the use-of-force form is a routine document and the officers had no reasonable belief that the reports would be private, or what’s called Garrity-protected.
Also in that private hearing without jurors present Friday morning, former officer Haley admitted that he left things out of his report, though he said, “it wasn’t on purpose.”
Inside federal court, Haley, Smith and Bean listened quietly as Lieutenant Larnce Wright II testified.
Lt. Wright told the jury that the former officers lied about their use of force and omitted the fact that Nichols was punched and kicked during the Jan. 7, 2023, traffic stop that would become deadly.
Though, in cross-examination, the defense questioned the trainer’s credibility as an expert on MPD policies and made the point that the officers he trained were only as good as their trainer.
The defense claims Nichols was resisting and ran from officers during the initial traffic stop.
The jury also saw new body camera video that prosecutors say shows the officers laughing about the attack on the scene.
Prosecutors also showed video of the former officers’ training as recruits, arguing that their training could’ve been more extensive.
The trial resumes Monday morning, marking day six.