Tyre Nichols: Arraignment date set for 5 ex-Memphis police officers charged in fatal beating

The five Memphis, Tennessee, police officers charged in connection to the death of Tyre Nichols will be arraigned in mid-February, Fox News can confirm. 

Court records show they are scheduled to appear for a “bond arraignment” on Feb. 17. 

The hearing will take place at 10 a.m. ET in front of Shelby County criminal court Judge James Jones.

The five former officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith — were all terminated on Jan. 18. They are each facing seven counts: second-degree murder; aggravated assault, act in concert; two counts of aggravated kidnapping; two counts of official misconduct; and official oppression. 

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Setting the court date nearly three weeks away is considered normal, according to a local criminal defense attorney not involved in the case who spoke to Fox News. The attorney noted how the five former officers are all already out on bond and are no longer in custody. 

On Friday, officials released footage showing Nichols, a 29-year-old FedEx driver, beaten by the five Memphis police officers on Jan. 7. 

Nichols died at the hospital three days after the arrest. 

Police Director Cerelyn “CJ” Davis, who became the first woman to lead the Memphis department just 20 months ago, permanently disbanded the city’s so-called Scorpion unit on Saturday. 

The New York Post reported that at least two of the five officers charged in Nichols’ death were hired after the Memphis Police Department relaxed qualification requirements. 

According to NBC News, Bean and Haley both joined the department in August 2020. That was about two months after the Minneapolis death of George Floyd sparked anti-police riots across the country. It was also two years after the Memphis Police Department changed some of the qualifications needed to become a police officer. 

In 2018, Action 5 reported that new Memphis police recruits no longer needed an associate’s degree or 54 college credit hours to join. Five years of work experience would suffice. 

The Post also reported that Haley, who was a correction officer at the Shelby County Corrections Department at the time, was accused of beating up an inmate who smuggled in contraband eight years ago. Haley denied in court papers allegations he assaulted Cordarlrius Sledge, who was serving a three-year sentence for aggravated assault, in May 2015. 

The lawsuit was dismissed in 2018 before its merits were evaluated after Sledge failed to provide the court with the requested information.

Fox News’ Landon Mion contributed to this report.