Former Memphis police officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith are charged with murder in the beating of Tyre Nichols , who was punched, kicked and hit with a police baton after he fled a traffic stop in January 2023. Nichols, who was Black, had run from a traffic stop despite being hit with pepper spray and a Taser. He died January10, 2023, three days after the beating. The three were found guilty October 3, 2024 of federal witness tampering charges in the death of Nichols, 29, whose beating was caught on police video. Haley was also convicted on two federal civil rights violations and a charge of conspiracy to witness tamper. Police body cameras and a security camera captured officers talking and laughing as Nichols struggles with his injuries. An autopsy report shows he died from blows to the head. The report describes brain injuries, along with cuts and bruises on his head and other areas. They are scheduled for sentencing on the federal convictions in January. The three, along with Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills Jr., were part of a crime suppression team called the Scorpion Unit that was disbanded after the Nichols beating. Mills and Martin pleaded guilty ahead of the federal trial, and they testified for prosecutors. Their sentences are pending. Mills and Martin also are expected to change their pleas in state court, which allows them to avoid a murder trial.