Current:Home > reviewsOfficers’ reports on fatal Tyre Nichols beating omitted punches and kicks, lieutenant testifies -DollarDynamic
Officers’ reports on fatal Tyre Nichols beating omitted punches and kicks, lieutenant testifies
Poinbank View
Date:2025-04-09 13:46:15
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Three former Memphis police officers broke department rules when they failed to say that they punched and kicked Tyre Nichols on required forms submitted after the January 2023 fatal beating, a police lieutenant testified Friday.
Larnce Wright, who trained the officers, testified about the the reports written and submitted by the officers, whose federal criminal trial began Monday. The reports, known as response-to-resistance forms, must include complete and accurate statements about what type of force was used, Wright said under questioning by a prosecutor, Kathryn Gilbert.
Jurors were shown the forms submitted by the three officers, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith. The three have pleaded not guilty to charges that they deprived the Nichols of his rights through excessive force and failure to intervene, and obstructed justice through witness tampering. None of the forms described punching or kicking Nichols. Omitting those details violates department policies and opens the officers up to internal discipline and possible criminal charges.
Nichols, who was Black, died Jan. 10, 2023, three days after the beating. Police video shows five officers, who also are Black, beating Nichols as he yells for his mother about a block from her home. Video also shows the officers milling about and talking as Nichols struggles with his injuries.
Wright said the three officers’ reports were not accurate when compared with what was seen in the video.
“They didn’t tell actually what force they used,” Wright said.
Wright also trained the officers’ two former colleagues, Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills Jr., who already have pleaded guilty to civil rights violations in Nichols’ death. Martin and Mills are expected to testify for prosecutors.
Bean and Smith wrote in their reports that they used “soft hand techniques” with closed hands. Wright said such a technique does not exist in department policies.
Haley’s report did not even say that he was present for the beating, only that he was at the traffic stop.
Earlier Friday, defense attorneys argued that the response-to-resistance forms are a type of protected statements that should not be admitted as evidence at trial. The judge ruled they could be used.
Kevin Whitmore, a lawyer for Bean, questioned Wright about the difference between active and passive resistance. Wright said active resistance means a subject is fighting officers. Defense attorneys have argued that Nichols did not comply with their orders and was fighting them during the arrest.
Wright began testifying Thursday, when he said the officers instead should have used armbars, wrist locks and other soft hands tactics to handcuff Nichols. He also testified that officers have a duty to physically intervene or call a supervisor to the scene if the officer sees another officer using more force than necessary.
Prosecutor Elizabeth Rogers said Wednesday that the officers were punishing Nichols for fleeing a traffic stop and that they just stood around during “crucial” minutes when Nichols’ heart stopped, when they could have helped him. Nichols had no pulse for 25 minutes until it was restored at the hospital, according to testimony from Rachael Love, a nurse practitioner.
An autopsy report shows Nichols died from blows to the head. The report describes brain injuries, and cuts and bruises on his head and other areas.
All five officers belonged to the now disbanded Scorpion Unit crime suppression team and were fired for violating Memphis Police Department policies.
They were also charged with second-degree murder in state court, where they pleaded not guilty, although Mills and Martin are expected to change their pleas. A trial date in state court has not been set.
Wells told reporters Wednesday that she hope for three guilty verdicts and for the world to know her son “wasn’t the criminal that they’re trying to make him out to be.”
___
Associated Press reporter Jonathan Mattise contributed from Nashville, Tennessee.
veryGood! (44792)
Related
- Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
- NASA plans for space station's demise with new SpaceX Deorbit Vehicle
- Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Aniston are getting the 'salmon sperm facial.' What is going on?
- A History of Kim Kardashian and Ivanka Trump's Close Friendship
- Who's hosting 'Saturday Night Live' tonight? Musical guest, how to watch Dec. 14 episode
- What is CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity company behind the global Microsoft outages?
- Camila Morrone Is Dating Cole Bennett 2 Years After Leonardo DiCaprio Breakup
- A massive tech outage is causing worldwide disruptions. Here’s what we know
- How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
- Pregnant Brittany Mahomes and Patrick Mahomes Reveal Sex of Baby No. 3
Ranking
- Buckingham Palace staff under investigation for 'bar brawl'
- Pregnant Brittany Mahomes and Patrick Mahomes Reveal Sex of Baby No. 3
- Blinken points to wider pledges to support Ukraine in case US backs away under Trump
- Missouri Supreme Court clears way for release of woman imprisoned for library worker's 1980 murder
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- U.S. stock trading unaffected by IT outage, but Crowdstrike shares tumble
- National Ice Cream Day 2024: Get some cool deals at Dairy Queen, Cold Stone, Jeni's and more
- Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp journeys to Italy in eighth overseas trip
Recommendation
Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
Shoko Miyata, Japanese Gymnastics Team Captain, to Miss 2024 Olympics for Smoking Violation
NASA plans for space station's demise with new SpaceX Deorbit Vehicle
Trump pays tribute to Pennsylvania firefighter killed in rally shooting
Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
Longtime US Rep Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, who had pancreatic cancer, has died
Marine accused of flashing a Nazi salute during the Capitol riot gets almost 5 years in prison
Highlights from the 2024 Republican National Convention