MEMPHIS, Tenn –
Jury selection began Monday in the federal trial of three former Memphis officers charged with violating the civil rights of Tyre Nichols, the 29-year-old man whose fatal beating was caught on police cameras, triggering protests and calls for police reform.
Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith have pleaded not guilty to charges that they deprived Nichols of his rights through excessive force and failure to intervene, and obstructed justice through witness tampering.
Nichols was pulled over in January 2023 and ran from police after he was yanked out of his car. Officers caught up with Nichols and pummeled him in a Memphis neighbourhood, police video showed.
Jurors will be selected from a pool of about 200 people. The trial is anticipated to last three to four weeks and will draw media from around the …