Opening statements were set to begin in the federal trial of three former Memphis police officers accused of federal civil rights violations in the tragic beating death of Tyre Nichols in January 2023. The trial, expected to last three to four weeks, has drawn attention to calls for police reform in the U.S.
The 29-year-old Nichols, who was Black, died in a hospital three days after being subjected to excessive force by the officers following a traffic stop. The incident, captured on police cameras, showed Nichols being kicked, punched, and hit with a police baton as he cried out for his mother.
