A judge on Monday denied the request from three former Memphis police officers to have separate trials in the death of Tyre Nichols, who died after being beaten following a traffic stop. Attorneys representing Tadarrius Bean, Desmond Mills, and Justin Smith had filed motions asking for their cases to be severed from those of Demetrius Haley and Emmitt Martin on the grounds that their clients wouldn’t get a fair trial if they all had to face a jury together over the Jan. 7 beating of Nichols. Shelby County Judge James Jones Jr. issued an order saying that severing the cases isn’t necessary to protect the defendants’ rights to a “fair determination” of their innocence or guilt. Nichols, 29, died three days after he was beaten by officers, with the incident captured on police video.
