In a Tennessee courtroom on Wednesday, the final verdict in a case that outraged the nation left many stunned: not guilty. After deliberating for more than eight hours, a jury acquitted three former Memphis police officers—Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith—of all charges in the brutal killing of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man whose cries for his mother were captured on police bodycams as he was beaten to death.
The jury, all white and brought in from outside Memphis, dismissed charges ranging from second-degree murder to official misconduct. The three officers, along with two others who had already pleaded guilty, had been part of a now-dismantled unit dubbed “Scorpion,” a so-called elite street crimes squad that left a trail of public distrust in its wake.
Tyre Nichols, a father, photographer, and skateboarder, had been pulled over on the night of January 7, 2023. What began as a traffic stop turned into a night of horror. In the footage released months earlier, the five officers—who, like Nichols, were all Black—were seen kicking, striking, and pepper-spraying him while he begged for help. Three days later, Nichols was dead.
The prosecution’s case relied heavily on that footage and testimony from the two former officers who flipped and testified against their former team. But it wasn’t enough to secure a conviction.
“We are obviously disappointed,” said the Shelby County District Attorney. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, speaking on behalf of Nichols’ grieving family, went further, calling the verdict “a devastating miscarriage of justice.”
The courtroom outcome contrasts starkly with public reaction when the video first emerged, igniting protests across the country and sparking renewed calls for systemic change in American policing. This trial was seen by many as a litmus test for whether change was truly possible—or whether the cycle of abuse and acquittal would simply repeat.
Even as the city of Memphis tries to rebuild trust, its residents are still asking how five officers could be filmed delivering such a merciless beating, and yet only two may serve time—thanks to plea deals that cap their sentences.
Meanwhile, the broader legal landscape is shifting once again. A federal probe in 2023 found Memphis police engaged in systemic abuse, but that investigation wrapped during a different administration. Now, with a new president in office calling for the empowerment of police rather than increased accountability, many fear cases like this will become even harder to prosecute.
All three men acquitted in this trial had already faced federal charges last year, resulting in a split verdict. They were convicted on witness tampering, but cleared of the more serious offenses. One of them, Haley, still faces up to 10 years for a federal civil rights violation.
The courtroom may have emptied, but the questions—and the outrage—are far from over.
