A Shelby County jury returned mixed verdicts on October 9, 2024 in the state murder trial of three former Memphis police officers charged in the January 2023 beating death of Tyre Nichols: Emmitt Martin III was found guilty of second-degree murder on one count; Tadarrius Bean and Demetrius Haley were acquitted on most charges. Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith had previously pleaded guilty to state charges in exchange for cooperation. All five officers had separately pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges and faced federal sentencing. These facts are confirmed by the Shelby County Circuit Court records, Fox News, NPR, CNN, and The Commercial Appeal.

Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was stopped for alleged reckless driving on January 7, 2023, and died three days later from injuries sustained during a prolonged beating by members of Memphis's elite 'Scorpion' street crimes unit. All five officers were Black. Memphis Mayor Paul Young said the city had disbanded the Scorpion unit days after video of the beating was released. The case renewed national debate over police reform and the role of all-Black units in enforcing laws in Black communities.

The federal guilty pleas, entered by all five officers in 2024, covered civil rights violations and obstruction charges; federal sentencing was scheduled for 2025. The state acquittals for Bean and Haley drew protests in Memphis. Nichols's mother, RowVaughn Wells, said the state verdicts were 'devastating' but added that she took some comfort from the federal guilty pleas.

NPR and CNN said the acquittals illustrated the high bar for murder convictions in police cases despite video evidence. Fox News noted the federal guilty pleas represented real accountability and that the all-Black officers' involvement complicated simplistic narratives about race and police violence.