Memphis, Tennessee — A judge has ordered a new trial for three former Memphis police officers who were convicted of federal charges in the beating death of Tyre Nichols. Defense lawyers argued that the judge who handled their trial was biased.
U.S. District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman issued the order for a new trial for Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith, who were found guilty in October 2024 of obstruction of justice through witness tampering. This was related to the beating of Nichols after he ran from a traffic stop.
Two other officers, Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills Jr., were also charged but pleaded guilty before the federal trial.
Judge Lipman took over the case in June after U.S. District Judge Mark S. Norris recused himself just days before the five officers’ sentencing.
On Jan. 7, 2023, officers pulled Nichols from his car, then pepper-sprayed and hit the 29-year-old Black man with a Taser. Nichols ran, but when the five officers, who are also Black, caught him, they punched, kicked, and hit him with a police baton. During the attack, Nichols called out for his mother. He died three days later.
Video from a police pole camera showed the officers standing around, talking, and laughing while Nichols was injured. The video sparked nationwide protests and calls for police reform.
Judge Norris, a Republican from Collierville, had served as Tennessee Senate majority leader from 2007 and was first elected in 2000. He was confirmed as a U.S. district judge in West Tennessee in October 2018 after being nominated by President Donald Trump.
