Police delivered a ‘beatdown’ that killed Tyre Nichols, prosecutor says in trial closing

Memphis police officers who beat Tyre Nichols to death wanted to punish him after he ran from a 2023 traffic stop and thought they could get away with it, a prosecutor said Wednesday as closing arguments began in the federal trial of three of the officers.

Memphis, Tennessee (AP) — Memphis police officers who beat Tyre Nichols to death wanted to punish him after he ran from a 2023 traffic stop and thought they could get away with it, a prosecutor said Wednesday as closing arguments began in the federal trial of three of the officers. “They wanted it to be a beatdown,” prosecutor Kathryn Gilbert told jurors in the federal trial of Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith, who are accused of violating Nichols’ civil rights and of trying to cover up the beating. “That’s what it was.” Prosecutors have argued the beating was part of a common police practice referred to in officer slang as the “street tax” or “run tax. ” Gilbert noted that Emmitt Martin, one of two officers to take a plea deal, testified that Nichols was not a threat when police beat him. She showed the jury a photo of a smiling Nichols wearing a vest, a tie, a white shirt with sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and hands in his pockets. She said the officers laughed and bragged about hitting Nichols, then lied about it to their supervisor and medical personnel to protect themselves. “They chose their own comfort and convenience over Mr. Nichols’ life,” she said.