‘That wasn’t called for,’ former police supervisor testifies in trial of officers accused in beating death of Tyre Nichols
There was “no need” for five Memphis police officers to punch, kick, and hit Tyre Nichols with a baton on the night he was fatally beaten after a traffic stop, their former supervisor testified Thursday in the federal trial for three of the officers.
The former supervisor said he also speculated that Nichols could have been on a hallucinogen or PCP and in a state of “excited delirium” – a controversial diagnosis sometimes used to justify excessive force – because he overpowered larger officers who hit him with pepper spray. Smith became the officers’ supervisor in late 2022, he said. He was allowed to retire in March 2023 “in lieu of termination,” he said.
The Memphis Police Department fired the three, along with Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr., after Nichols’ death. The officers were later indicted on the federal charges. Martin and Mills have taken plea deals.
Smith Beating Nichols Video Thc Head Practice Justin Smith Memphis Police Department Martin
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