Jury mulling fate of 3 former Memphis officers charged in Tyre Nichols' fatal beating

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The future of three former Memphis officers charged with violating Tyre Nichols' civil rights in a beating that proved fatal is in the hands of a jury after a nearly monthlong federal trial.

Jurors began their deliberations Thursday, a day after prosecutors and defense attorneys presented closing arguments in the trial of Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith. They were among five officers who were were fired from the Memphis Police Department after the Jan. 7, 2023, beating.

Prosecutor Kathryn Gilbert told jurors that the officers wanted to punish Nichols for running from a traffic stop and that they thought they could get away with it. Prosecutors argued the beating reflected a common police practice that officers refer to as the “street tax” or “run tax. ”

"They wanted it to be a beatdown,” Gilbert said. “That’s what it was.”

Defense lawyers sought to downplay each of their client's involvement.

Bean's attorney, John Keith Perry, told jurors that Nichols ignored commands such as “give me your hands” and said his client followed department policies.

“The force was not excessive,” Perry said.

Throughout the trial, jurors repeatedly watched clips of graphic police video of the beating and traffic stop that preceded it. The video shows officers using pepper spray and a Taser on Nichols, who was Black, before the 29-year-old ran away. The five officers, who also are Black, then punched, kicked and hit him about a block from his home, as he called out for his mother.

As they held Nichols, officers said “hit him” and “beat that man,” prosecutor Forrest Christian said during closing arguments.

“This was not a fight. This was just a beating,” Christian said.

Nichols died three days later. An autopsy report shows Nichols — the father of a boy who is now 7 — died from blows to the head. The report describes brain injuries, and cuts and bruises on his head and elsewhere on his body.

Two of the officers, Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills Jr., pleaded guilty to depriving Nichols of his civil rights and testified for prosecutors. Haley, Bean and Smith pleaded not guilty to federal charges of excessive force, failure to intervene, and obstructing justice through witness tampering.

Defense lawyers sought to portray Martin as a principal aggressor. They also suggested without evidence that Nichols may have been on drugs — something Christian called “shameful.” The autopsy report showed only low amounts of alcohol and marijuana in his system.

The five officers were part of the Scorpion Unit, which looked for drugs, illegal guns and violent offenders. It was disbanded after Nichols’ death.

After the beating, the officers did not tell medical professionals on scene or at the hospital that they had punched and kicked Nichols in the head, witnesses said. They also failed tell their supervisor on the scene and write in required forms about the amount of force used, prosecutors argued.

Martin testified that Nichols was no threat to officers

Martin's testimony provided a glimpse into the Memphis Police Department’s culture, which the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating.

Martin discussed an understanding between members of the Scorpion Unit to not tell on each other after they used excessive force and said they would justify their use of force by exaggerating the person’s actions against them. He also described feeling pressure to make arrests to accumulate “stats” to be able to stay on the street with the unit.

The five officers also have been charged with second-degree murder in state court, where they pleaded not guilty. Mills and Martin are expected to change their pleas. A trial date in state court has not been set.

A sign is seen outside the federal courthouse during the trial of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Demetrius Haley, left, one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, arrives at the federal courthouse with his attorney Michael Stengel, right, for the day's proceedings Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tadarrius Bean, one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, arrives at the federal courthouse for the day's proceedings Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Justin Smith, left, one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, arrives at the federal courthouse with his attorney Martin Zummach, right, for the day's proceedings Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tadarrius Bean, one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, arrives at the federal courthouse for the day's proceedings Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Demetrius Haley, left, one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, arrives at the federal courthouse with his attorney Michael Stengel, right, for the day's proceedings Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Justin Smith, one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, arrives at the federal courthouse for the day's proceedings Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

RowVaughn Wells, right, is comforted during a prayer vigil outside the federal courthouse as jury deliberations begin for the trial of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of her son, Tyre Nichols, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Family and friends of Tyre Nichols gather for a prayer vigil outside the federal courthouse as jury deliberations begin for the trial of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Nichols, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Jamal Dupree, left, and La'Toya Yizar, right, comfort each other during a prayer vigil outside the federal courthouse as jury deliberations begin for the trial of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of their brother, Tyre Nichols, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Family and friends of Tyre Nichols, pray before entering the federal courthouse for the trial of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Nichols, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Justin Smith, one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichol, arrives at the federal courthouse for the day's proceedings on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Karen Pulfer Focht)

Justin Smith, one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, arrives at the federal courthouse for the day's proceedings Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tadarrius Bean one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, arrives at the federal courthouse for the day's proceedings Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Friends and family of Tyre Nichols gather to pray before entering the federal courthouse for the trial of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating Nichols, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

RowVaughn Wells, left, mother of Tyre Nichols, prays with family and friends before entering the federal courthouse for the trial of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of her son Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A rare whale found dead off Massachusetts earlier this year died as a result of entanglement in Maine lobster fishing gear, federal authorities said.

The North Atlantic right whale was found dead off Martha's Vineyard in January. The whales are declining in population and are at the center of efforts to more tightly regulate shipping and commercial fishing off the East Coast.

A necropsy determined that the whale died from “chronic entanglement” in gear that was earlier determined to be consistent with the kind of rope used in Maine's lobster fishery, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Wednesday. NOAA said a law enforcement investigation into the whale's death remains open.

The right whales number less than 360 and they have experienced high mortality in recent years. The death of the whale reignited a longstanding debate between environmentalists and commercial fishermen about the need to more tightly regulate lobster fishing.

The right whales, which can weigh 150,000 pounds (68,000 kilograms), are vulnerable to lethal entanglement in the ropes commonly used in lobster fishing that connect lobster traps to surface buoys.

“Dying this way is a horrendous fate that no creature deserves, but it’ll happen again and again until we get these deadly fishing ropes out of the water," said Kristen Monsell, oceans legal director for the Center for Biological Diversity.

Members of the industry said Thursday they have made strides to avoid the whales and have largely succeeded. The vast majority of America's lobster catch comes to the docks in Maine, where the seafood is a cultural icon and a key component of the economy.

“The fact is we know that entanglement in Maine gear is extremely rare. This is the first reported entanglement of a right whale in Maine lobster gear in 20 years and the first death attributed to the fishery," the Maine Lobstermen’s Association said in a statement. “Maine lobstermen have made significant changes to how they fish over the last 25 years to avoid entanglement.”

The population of the whales fell by about 25% from 2010 to 2020. They were once abundant off the East Coast, but they were decimated during the commercial fishing era and have been slow to recover.

The whales' migration has become dangerous in recent years because their food sources appear to be moving as waters warm, scientists have said. Scientists and environmentalists have said the whales stray from protected areas of ocean and become vulnerable to entanglements and collisions.

This image provided by NOAA Fisheries shows scientists and researchers performing a necropsy on a North Atlantic right whale, which was found dead off Joseph Sylvia State Beach in January 2024, on Feb. 2, 2024, on Martha's Vineyard, Mass. (NOAA Fisheries via AP)