Two of the former Memphis police officers on trial for using excessive force against Tyre Nichols during his fatal arrest spoke with FBI agents in the weeks after Nichols’ death.
FBI special agent Anthony Householder testified Thursday that Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean both took responsibility for the role they played in the deadly night last January.
A team of five officers were shown on surveillance and body camera footage either striking, punching or kicking Nichols following a traffic stop that he fled.
Two of the former detectives – Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills – have pleaded guilty to federal charges. Smith, Bean and Demetrius Haley remain accused of using excessive force, failing to render medical aid and misleading superiors about their actions as part of a cover up.
“Mr. Nichols shouldn’t have died,” Householder recalled Smith telling him during an interview, also noting that Smith struggled to watch footage from the scene.
Smith cried during the interview, Householder later told jurors.
“He was certainly remorseful,” he said.
Smith and Bean spoke with Householder – along with other investigators and federal prosecutors – as part of an arrangement that typically comes with some kind of criminal immunity. That is unless, Householder said, an interviewee lies or breaks another term of the agreement.
Householder did not specify which terms Bean and Smith may have violated. Prosecutors and defense attorneys previously debated whether jurors could hear about what was said during the interviews.
Defense attorneys emphasized that the meetings were not recorded and based solely on FBI agents’ recollection and notes, suggesting they may contain misunderstandings or inaccuracies.
Smith reportedly admitted to FBI agents that he struck Nichols as he tried to cuff him and didn’t stop Martin from punching Nichols multiple times in the head.
Martin has already testified that he threw punches and kicked Nichols because he was angry that the 29-year-old ran from the traffic stop.
According to Householder, Smith didn’t tell arriving EMTs about Nichols’ possible injuries because he thought Nichols would tell them.
Body camera footage from the scene shows Nichols slurring his words and falling over after he’s cuffed and propped against a police car. He eventually went into cardiac arrest and was transported to the hospital, according to testimony from an arriving paramedic.
In a series of two interviews, Householder says Bean said it was hard to see that night because of the use of pepper spray but acknowledged he either felt or saw Martin kick and punch Nichols, which he identified as outside the scope of reasonable force.
Bean had reportedly not disclosed the information, Householder said, because he was new to the team and didn’t want to be seen as a “snitch.”
Prosecutors also showed jurors a text message sent the day after the arrest, between Haley and another officer not involved in the incident.
"Who beat dude up last night?" the officer texted.
"Us," Haley replied.
After calling almost 20 witnesses, the prosecution then rested their case Thursday.
An attorney for Haley called their first witness—an independent forensics expert who did an analysis of Nichols’ DNA that was found on Haley’s right work boot that was confiscated after the arrest.
The analyst, Samantha Spencer, concluded that the DNA most likely came from a skin cell, which she said could have come from clothing.
Haley is shown on video delivering a kick to Nichols, which prosecutors say was unnecessary and against MPD training. His defense has argued he did it to help get Nichols handcuffed.
This post has been updated.
