STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
A federal jury in Memphis, Tenn., has delivered a mixed verdict in a police brutality case.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Three former officers were found not guilty on the harshest charges they faced, which could have put them in prison for life for the beating death of Tyre Nichols. But they were convicted on others, which brought this chant from Nichols' family and supporters outside the courthouse.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) Justice for Tyre.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Chanting) Justice for Tyre.
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) Justice for Tyre.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Chanting) Justice for Tyre.
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) Justice for Tyre.
INSKEEP: So was this justice? NPR's Debbie Elliott has been covering the trial and joins us now. Debbie, good morning.
DEBBIE ELLIOTT, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: Would you remind us of the backdrop of this case?
ELLIOTT: Yeah. This was a federal civil rights trial. And it was fired Memphis police detectives Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith. All of them were acquitted of the most serious charges here, that their actions led to the death of Tyre Nichols after a traffic stop in 2023. But they were convicted of obstruction of justice and witness tampering in attempt to cover up what had happened. Haley was also found guilty of depriving Nichols of his rights by using excessive force and other charges.
Over about a month's time, jurors saw a whole lot of graphic video evidence of the beating. And they heard testimony from two other ex-officers who were involved who had pleaded guilty in this case. Defense attorneys the whole time, though, had argued that these officers were acting in line with use-of-force protocols because Nichols had failed to comply with police orders. The jury deliberated for about six hours before returning what I would say is a rather nuanced verdict.
INSKEEP: Yeah, and listening to you, Debbie, I'm thinking of a couple of broad themes in law enforcement. One is that it is very hard to convict police officers in these cases because of the way the law is structured. They have a job to do. They have rules in which they're allowed to do it, and they're allowed to use considerable force. But the other thing is the old saying that it's not the crime, it's the cover-up. And that seems to be what got the officers here. So how is Nichols' family reacting?
ELLIOTT: Well, they were very aware of what you were talking about, how hard it is to win convictions in these kinds of police brutality cases. So they see this as a victory because they were able to watch federal marshals escort these three former cops immediately out of the courtroom. Here's Keyana Dixon, who is Tyre Nichols' sister.
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KEYANA DIXON: It's a bittersweet day. I will never get my little brother back, but to see those officers held accountable for what they did and put our family through did give us some hope for the future that maybe this won't ever happen to another family.
INSKEEP: OK, the hope that this doesn't happen again. What are people in Memphis saying about that possibility?
ELLIOTT: You know, some of the activists I spoke with last night were still just sort of trying to wrap their heads around what this means. They seemed a bit deflated that the ex-officers weren't convicted of the harshest charges, given the video evidence. Earlier in the day, I spoke with activist Paula Buress. She had been standing out the courthouse all day with a handmade cardboard sign with Tyre Nichols' name on it. And she characterizes this case as proof that the culture of policing in Memphis needs to change.
PAULA BURESS: It just corroborates everything we've been saying for a long time, the victims. We don't want to become complacent and forget about this long journey that we're on. It's going to take a while.
ELLIOTT: There is some hope that an ongoing civil rights investigation by the Justice Department might force change.
INSKEEP: Debbie, thanks so much for the insights. Really appreciate it.
ELLIOTT: You're welcome.
INSKEEP: That's NPR's Debbie Elliott in Memphis, Tenn. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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