Jury is selected for the trial of 3 ex-Memphis officers charged in Tyre Nichols' death

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A jury was selected Tuesday for the federal trial of three former Memphis police officers charged with federal civil rights violations in the January 2023 beating death of Tyre Nichols.

A pool of 200 candidates answered questionnaires ahead of jury selection to assess their ability to serve on the panel. Prospective jurors answered questions from U.S. District Judge Mark Norris about whether they could be fair and impartial in the face of heavy media coverage before the trial and whether watching video of the beating would be a problem for them if they are chosen.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers agreed on the 12 jurors and four alternates after more than 12 hours of jury selection, which began Monday. Opening statements are expected Wednesday. The trial is expected to last three to four weeks.

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith have pleaded not guilty to charges that they deprived the 29-year-old 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, Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr., have already pleaded guilty to the federal charges and could testify against their former colleagues.

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 is 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.

The three officers now facing trial, along with Martin and Mills, 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 and are expected to plead guilty to state charges as well. A trial date in state court has not been set.

On Monday, the judge read a list of potential witnesses that includes Martin and Mills, in addition to two other former officers. Preston Hemphill fired his stun gun at the traffic stop scene but didn’t follow Nichols to where other officers pummeled him. Hemphill was fired. Dewayne Smith was the supervising lieutenant who arrived on scene after the beating. He retired instead of being fired.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Tuesday told reporters that Nichols' death “never should have happened," but that “steps have been made to improve on the circumstances in the city of Memphis and in the Memphis Police Department.”

“That family will always be forever changed because of that loss,” the Republican said when asked directly about the ongoing trial. “And we talk a lot about redemption. And what we have to hope is that the redemption that comes with justice will be executed here in this case.”

Earlier this year, Lee and Republican lawmakers clashed with Nichols' mother and stepfather as the state repealed Memphis police reforms implemented after their son's death. One of the voided city ordinances had outlawed so-called pretextual traffic stops, such as for a broken taillight and other minor violations.

Associated Press reporters Jonathan Mattise and Kimberlee Kruesi contributed from Nashville, Tennessee.

Former Memphis police officer Tadarrius Bean arrives at the federal courthouse for the second day of jury selection for the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Former Memphis police officer Justin Smith arrives at the federal courthouse for the second day of jury selection for the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Former Memphis police officer Tadarrius Bean, right, arrives at the federal courthouse with attorney John Keith Perry, right, for the second day of jury selection for the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Former Memphis police officer Demetrius Haley arrives at the federal courthouse for the second day of jury selection for the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (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)

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)

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)

Former Memphis police officer Justin Smith, left, and attorney Martin Zummach, right, arrive at the federal courthouse for the second day of jury selection for the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Former Memphis police officer Demetrius Haley arrives at the federal courthouse for the second day of jury selection for the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Former Memphis police officer Tadarrius Bean arrives at the federal courthouse for the second day of jury selection for the trial in the Tyre Nichols case Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Jury selection continues in the trial of 3 ex-Memphis officers charged in Tyre Nichols' death

Jury selection continues in the trial of 3 ex-Memphis officers charged in Tyre Nichols' death

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)

BANGKOK (AP) — Floods and landslides in Myanmar triggered by last week’s Typhoon Yagi and seasonal monsoon rains have claimed at least 226 lives, with 77 people missing, state-run media reported Tuesday. The new figures push the total number of dead in Southeast Asia from the storm past 500.

The accounting of casualties has been slow, in part due to communication difficulties with the affected areas. Myanmar is wracked by a civil war that began in 2021 after the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Independent analysts believe the ruling military controls much less than half of the country’s territory.

Typhoon Yagi earlier hit Vietnam, northern Thailand and Laos, killing almost 300 people in Vietnam, 42 in Thailand and four in Laos, according to the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance. It said 21 people were killed in the Philippines, with another 26 missing.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said on Monday that an estimated 631,000 people may have been affected by flooding across Myanmar. There were already 3.4 million displaced people in Myanmar at the beginning of September, according to the U.N. refugee agency, mostly because of war and unrest in recent years.

Heavy rains from the typhoon and the seasonal monsoon brought widespread flash floods to Myanmar, especially the central regions of Mandalay, Magway, Bago and the Ayeyarwaddy Delta; the eastern states Shan, Kayah, Kayin and Mon; and the country’s capital, Naypyitaw.

Some flooded areas have started to see water levels recede but others in the Shan and Kayah states remain critical.

More than 160,000 houses have been damaged and 438 temporary relief camps have been opened for more than 160,000 flood victims, Myanma Alinn reported. The military government announced that nearly 240,000 people have been displaced.

Myanma Alinn said 117 government offices and buildings, 1,040 schools, 386 religious buildings, roads, bridges, power towers, and telecom towers were damaged by the floods in 56 townships.

It also said nearly 130,000 animals were killed and more than 259,000 hectares (640,000 acres) of agricultural land were damaged by the floods.

The U.N.’s humanitarian affairs agency said food, drinking water, medicine, clothes, dignity kits, and shelters are urgent needs for the flood victims but alleviation efforts are hampered by blocked roads, damaged bridges and ongoing armed clashes.

Vice Senior Gen. Soe Win, the second-ranking member of Myanmar’s ruling military council, said the country had received relief aid from other countries, and some humanitarian assistance from the Association of Southeast Asia, will arrive soon.

Soe Win, speaking at a meeting of the National Disaster Management Committee on Monday, said that the extent of flooding in the capital was unprecedented, and cleaning and rehabilitation activities in the flooded areas began Thursday as the water level declined.

Myanmar experiences extreme weather during the monsoon virtually every year. In 2008, Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 people around the Irrawaddy River delta. The then-military government was harshly discredited when it delayed acceptance of outside aid.

Local residents carry food on their cart, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Local residents carry their belongings along a flooded road, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Local residents carry food walking in the rain, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Local residents carry their belongings along a flooded road, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Local residents wade through flooded water at a broken bridge, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Local residents wade through flooded water at a broken bridge, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Local residents travel by boat on a flooded road, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

A boy wades through a flooded road, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

A women and child wade through a flooded road, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Myanmar, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Local residents wade through flooded water at a broken bridge, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Flood victims receive relief supplies from a private donor in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Flood victims take rest at temporary camp opened at monastery in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

A chicken stands on wooden beam of a half-submerged building along a flooded road in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

A woman looks out at flooded areas in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Local residents wash clothes along a flooded road in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)