5 former officers charged in Tyre Nichols’ death appear in court

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Five former officers charged in the death of Tyre Nichols are due back in court in August 18.

The former officers appeared in court on Friday morning for a status hearing, which lasted about 10 minutes.

Former officers Emmitt Martin, Desmond Mills, Justin Smith, Demetrius Haley, and Tadarrius Bean are charged with second-degree murder.

Four of the five accused Memphis Police officers in the Tyre Nichols murder case have filed a motion in federal court to pause their civil case until their criminal case can be resolved.

This filing comes shortly after Demetrius Haley filed a motion to postpone the legal proceedings in his case.

Attorneys are also requesting certain evidence not be released to the public, such as additional body cam footage, pole camera footage and witness statements.

Haley’s attorney Blake Ballin says he’s especially concerned about the release of law enforcement reports summarizing what happened.

“So that’s the part that’s most dangerous,” Ballin said. “You have investigative materials by law enforcement officers in positions of authority saying things we disagree with publicly where a potential jury can hear it. We don’t think that’s the right thing to do.”

Nichols’ siblings attended the court hearing and spoke with Action News 5′s Kelli Cook. You can hear their thoughts on the case tonight on Action News 5 at 5 p.m.

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