US federal jury convicts three officers in fatal Tyre Nichols beating
Al Jazeera
Officers convicted of witness tampering but cleared of higher charges, in incident that prompted nationwide protests.
Three former police officers have been convicted on federal charges related to the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee — an incident in 2023 that sparked nationwide protests and calls for law enforcement reform.
All three were found guilty of witness tampering when the verdict was delivered on Thursday. But they were cleared of the most severe charge: violating the 29-year-old Nichols’s civil rights by causing death.
One officer, Demetrius Haley, was nevertheless convicted of violating Nichols’s civil rights causing bodily injury, as well as witness tampering.
Federal witness tampering charges carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Sentencing is anticipated to take place in January.
“A win is a win. They’re all going to jail,” Rodney Wells, Nichols’s stepfather, told The Associated Press news agency outside of the courthouse.
