Judge asks potential jurors if they can be fair toward 3 officers charged in Tyre Nichols' death

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Potential jurors in the federal trial of three former Memphis police officers charged with violating Tyre Nichols ’ civil rights were asked Monday whether heavy media coverage and publicly released video of him being beaten to death could influence their ability to be fair.

U.S. District Judge Mark Norris questioned jury candidates about what they think are the most important characteristics a juror should have and whether they would be biased in reaching a verdict.

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith have pleaded not guilty to charges that they deprived Nichols of his rights through excessive force and failure to intervene, and obstructed justice through witness tampering. The beating was caught on police cameras, triggering protests and calls for police reform. Two others have already pleaded guilty to the federal charges and could testify against them.

Nichols, who was Black, died in a hospital on Jan. 10, 2023, three days after he was kicked, punched and hit with a police baton following a traffic stop. Police video released that month showed the five officers, who also are Black, beating Nichols as he yelled for his mother about a block from his home. Video also showed the officers milling about and talking with each other as Nichols sat on the ground, struggling with his injuries.

The officers said Nichols was pulled over for reckless driving, but Memphis’ police chief has said there was no evidence to substantiate that claim.

An autopsy report showed Nichols died from blows to the head and that the manner of death was homicide. The report described brain injuries and cuts and bruises to the head and other areas.

Nichols worked for FedEx, and he enjoyed skateboarding and photography.

About 200 potential jurors were sent questionnaires in August to assess their ability to serve on the panel. The judge asked prospective jurors — who were identified by numbers not names — if they had seen media coverage, which has been intense since video of his beating death was released.

One woman said she heard on the news that an officer had pleaded guilty. When the judge asked if that news had made an impression on her, she said: “It crossed my mind.”

The judge also asked jurors if viewing video footage of police use of force would affect them. One juror asked how graphic the video would be and, when told, said, “that’s not something I would want to see.”

The trial is expected to last three to four weeks. Nichols' mother and stepfather were in court Monday.

The three officers now facing trial, along with Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr., were fired for violating Memphis Police Department policies. They had been members of a crime suppression team called the Scorpion Unit, which was disbanded after Nichols' death.

Shortly after their dismissal, the five were charged with second-degree murder in state court, where they pleaded not guilty. They were then indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2023.

Mills and Martin have each pleaded guilty in federal court. A trial date in state court has not been set.

Former Memphis police officer Justin Smith leaves the federal courthouse after the first day of jury selection of the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Attorney John Keith Perry, center, leaves the federal courthouse with his client former Memphis police officer Tadarrius Bean after the first day of jury selection of the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Former Memphis police officer Demetrius Haley leaves the federal courthouse after the first day of jury selection of the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Former Memphis police officer Demetrius Haley, right, arrives at the federal courthouse before the start of jury selection of the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Memphis. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

People wait to enter the federal courthouse before the start of jury selection of the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Memphis. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Former Memphis police officer Justin Smith arrives at the federal courthouse before the start of jury selection of the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Memphis. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Former Memphis police officer Tadarrius Bean, second from right, arrives at the federal courthouse before the start of jury selection of the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Memphis. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

RowVaughn Wells, left, and Rodney Wells, parents of Tyre Nichols, arrive at the federal courthouse before the start of jury selection of the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Memphis. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Former Memphis police officer Tadarrius Bean, right, arrives at the federal courthouse before the start of jury selection of the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Memphis. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Former Memphis police officer Justin Smith arrives at the federal courthouse before the start of jury selection of the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Memphis. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Former Memphis police officer Demetrius Haley arrives at the federal courthouse before the start of jury selection of the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Memphis. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Former Memphis police officer Tadarrius Bean, left, and his lawyer John Keith Perry walk towards the entrance of a federal courthouse before the start of jury selection of the trial in the Tyre Nichols case on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)

FILE - RowVaughn Wells rests on her husband's shoulder Rodney Wells, the parents of Tyre Nichols, during a news conference after a former Memphis Police Department officer pleaded guilty to civil rights violations in the 2023 fatal beating of their son, Aug. 23, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)

FILE - This combo of images provided by the Memphis, Tenn., Police Department shows, top row from left, officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, and bottom row from left, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith. (Memphis Police Department via AP, File)

FILE - The screen at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans honors Tyre Nichols before an NBA basketball game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Washington Wizards, Jan. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton, File)

FILE - The image from video released on Jan. 27, 2023, by the City of Memphis, shows Tyre Nichols during a brutal attack by five Memphis police officers on Jan. 7, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn. (City of Memphis via AP, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy" Combs was arrested late Monday in New York, where he faces a sealed criminal indictment, prosecutors announced late Monday.

Details of the charges weren't immediately announced by prosecutors, but the hip-hop mogul has faced a stream of allegations by women in recent months who accused him of sexual assault.

The U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Damian Williams, said in a statement that federal agents arrested Combs. “We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.”

Combs' lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, issued a statement saying: “We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”

He added that Combs had gone to New York last week in anticipation of the charges being brought.

“He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal,” Agnifilo said.

Combs was arrested in a Manhattan hotel lobby and is in federal custody, said a person familiar with the arrest who spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The criminal charges are a major but not unexpected takedown of one of the most prominent producers and most famous names in the history of hip-hop.

The federal investigation of the 58-year-old Combs was revealed when Homeland Security Investigations agents served simultaneous search warrants and raided Combs' mansions in Los Angeles and Miami on March 25.

His defense attorney Aaron Dyer the day after the raids called them “a gross use of military-level force,” said the allegations were “meritless,” and said Combs was “innocent and will continue to fight" to clear his name.

Combs, then known as Puff Daddy, was at the center of the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop battles of the 1990s as the partner and producer of the Notorious B.I.G., who was shot and killed in 1997. But like many of those who survived the era, his public image had softened with age into a genteel host of parties in Hollywood and the Hamptons, a fashion-forward businessman, and a doting father who spoiled his kids, some of whom lost their mother in 2018.

But a different image began emerging in November, when his former protege and girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, became the first of several people to sue him for sexual abuse with stories of a steady stream of sex workers in drug-fueled settings where some of those involved were coerced or cajoled into sex.

In her November lawsuit, Cassie alleged years of abuse, including beatings and rape. Her suit also alleged Combs engaged in sex trafficking by “requiring her to engage in forced sexual acts in multiple jurisdictions” and by engaging in “harboring and transportation of Plaintiff for purposes of sex induced by force, fraud, or coercion.”

It also said he compelled her to help him traffic male sex workers Combs would force Cassie to have sex with while he filmed.

The suit was settled settled the following day, but its reverberations would last far longer. Combs lost lingering allies, supporters and those reserving judgment when CNN in May aired a leaked video of him punching Cassie, kicking her and throwing her on the floor in a hotel hallway.

The following day, in his first real acknowledgement of wrongdoing since the stream of allegations began, Combs posted a social media video apologizing, saying “I was disgusted when I did it” and “I’m disgusted now.” Cassie’s lawsuit was followed by at least a half-dozen others in the ensuing months.

In February, a music producer filed a lawsuit alleging Combs coerced him to solicit prostitutes and pressured him to have sex with them.

Another of Combs’ accusers was a woman who said the rap producer raped her two decades ago when she was 17.

Another woman who filed a lawsuit, April Lampos, said she was a college student in 1994 when she met Combs and a series of “terrifying sexual encounters” with Combs and those around him began that lasted for years.

Combs and his attorneys denied nearly all of the lawsuits’ allegations.

While authorities did not publicly say that the lawsuits set off the criminal investigation, Dyer said when the warrants were served that the case was based on “meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits.”

The AP does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly as Cassie and Lampros did.

As the founder of Bad Boy Records, Combs became one of the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades Along with the Notorious B.I.G. he worked with a slew of top-tier artists including Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, Faith Evans and 112.

Combs’ roles in his businesses beyond music — including lucrative private-label spirits, a media company and the Sean John Fashion line — took major hits when the allegations arose.

The consequences were even greater when the leaked beating video emerged. Howard University cut ties with him, and he returned his key to the city of New York at the request of the mayor.

Dalton reported from Los Angeles.

FILE - Sean "Diddy" Combs arrives at the LA Premiere of "The Four: Battle For Stardom" at the CBS Radford Studio Center on May 30, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)