Sentencings for five former Memphis police officers convicted of federal charges in the beating death of Tyre Nichols will take place after an April state court trial on second-degree murder in the Black man's death, a judge ruled Friday. Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith will be scheduled for sentencing in federal court the week of June 16, with specific dates for each former officer to be set later, U.S. District Judge Mark Norris said during a court hearing. The former officers are also Black.
Bean, Haley and Smith had been set for sentencing next week. Martin's sentencing had been scheduled for the following week, and Mills' sentencing had been set for Feb. 20. John Keith Perry, Bean's lawyer, had asked the judge to delay the sentencing. Perry argued that Bean may testify on his own behalf at the federal sentencing hearing, and any comments he may make under oath could be used against him at the April 28 state court trial.
Lawyers for the former officers also took issue with certain aspects of their presentencing reports related to guidelines that will be used by the judge to determine their prison terms. Those issues will be addressed in motions filed with the federal court and a hearing set in February.
Police video showed officers pepper spraying Nichols, 29, and hitting him with a Taser before he ran away from a traffic stop on Jan. 7, 2023. The five officers chased down Nichols and kicked, punched and hit him with a police baton just steps from his home as he called out for his mother. The video showed the officers milling about, talking and laughing as Nichols struggled.
