One of the ex-officers accused in the beating death of Tyre Nichols took accountability for Nichols’ death during investigation interviews, an FBI agent testified Thursday at the federal trial of three former Memphis police officers facing charges in the January 2023 death.
Anthony Householder, the FBI agent who interviewed former officers Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean about the case during the investigation, claimed that Smith took accountability for his actions during the encounter, according to WATN, the ABC affiliate in Memphis covering the case in the courtroom.
Householder said that Smith told him that he knew Emmitt Martin III, his former colleague, was angry and “seeing red” that night, and he told Householder it was a “coward move” for Martin to kick Nichols, according to WATN.
Smith, Bean and Demetrius Haley were charged on Sept. 12, 2023, with violating Nichols’ civil rights through excessive use of force, unlawful assault, failing to intervene in the assault and failing to render medical aid. These charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The officers have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Martin and Desmond Mills Jr., the two other officers who were also charged in this case, have pleaded guilty to some of the federal charges.
Mills pleaded guilty to two of the four counts in the indictment — excessive force and failing to intervene, as well as conspiring to cover up his use of unlawful force, according to the DOJ. The government said it will recommend a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, based on the terms of Mills’ plea agreement.
Martin pleaded guilty to excessive force and failure to intervene, as well as conspiracy to witness tamper, according to court records. The other two charges will be dropped at sentencing, which has been scheduled for Dec. 5, according to the court records.
Martin testified in the trial earlier this month that he was hit by a car in November 2022 and returned to work Jan. 3, 2023, according to WATN. The ex-officer said he was scared, angry, eager to show he could still do the job and wanted revenge for being struck by a vehicle.
Householder claimed Smith said during the interview that he was surprised to see Martin back at work and should’ve stopped him from punching Nichols, according to WATN. The FBI agent also noted that Smith, who wrote in a police report that Nichols grabbed at his vest during the encounter, did not mention that Nichols grabbed him while falling from Martin’s punches.
The agent said Smith admitted that he hit Nichols in the face three times even though punches and kicks were not necessary because Nichols did not pose a threat, according to WATN. The ex-officer did not tell emergency medical technicians who arrived on the scene after the encounter about the beating because he thought Nichols would reveal their use of force, according to Householder.
Based on the agent’s testimony, Smith told former Lt. Dewayne Smith, his former supervisor, about kicks and the former lieutenant made reference to being a snitch, according to WATN. Smith told Householder that he wanted to stand with the team and didn’t tell Dewayne Smith because he was afraid it would lead to a fight. The former lieutenant retired in March 2023 rather than face a termination hearing in connection with the Nichols’ beating.
Householder said that Smith also told him that he could have simply taken Nichols to the ground and had failed in his execution during the encounter, according to WATN. Smith said he didn’t think Nichols would die, according to the FBI agent.
Text messages between Haley and Bean were shown to the court, in which Haley asked if Bean’s body camera captured Haley during the encounter, according to WATN. Bean replied that his body camera fell off after one minute.
“Okay bet,” Haley responded, according to WATN.
Haley also texted with another officer who asked him, “Who beat dude up last night?”
“Us,” Haley responded, according to WATN.
Householder claimed that Bean said he struggled to see the strikes against Nichols because of pepper spray and Nichols’ height, but he could see Nichols was swaying, according to WATN. In a second interview, Bean said he omitted information in the first interview because he didn’t want to be labeled a snitch or put the team at harm, according to the agent.
Householder noted that Bean told investigators his actions led to things happening the way it did, according to WATN.
John Perry, Bean’s attorney, cross-examined Householder and asked if the interview was recorded, alluding to the difficulty of remembering everything that was said during the investigation, according to WATN. Householder said that he provided narrative summaries of the interviews to the court and they contained everything that Householder testified in the hearing, but he admitted later, during questioning from Martin Zummach, Justin Smith’s attorney, that he could have misunderstood a question or an answer.
Body-camera footage shows that Nichols fled after police pulled him over on Jan. 7, 2023, for allegedly driving recklessly, then shocked him with a Taser and pepper-sprayed him.
Officers allegedly then beat Nichols minutes later after tracking him down. After the police encounter, Nichols was transferred to the hospital in critical condition.
Nichols, 29, died in the hospital on Jan. 10, 2023. Footage shows the officers walking around, talking to each other as Nichols was injured and sitting on the ground.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said she has been unable to substantiate that Nichols was driving recklessly. The incident triggered protests and calls for police reform.
After the police encounter, Nichols was transferred to the hospital in critical condition. The medical examiner’s official autopsy report for Nichols showed he “died of brain injuries from blunt force trauma,” the district attorney’s office told Nichols’ family in May 2023.
The prosecution told ABC News earlier this month that they will not have any statements until after the trial. The defense attorneys did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
The five former officers charged in this case were all members of the Memphis Police Department SCORPION unit — a crime suppression unit that was disbanded after Nichols’ death. All of the officers were fired for violating MPD policies.
The prosecution rested its case on Thursday after calling 19 witnesses to testify over several days, according to WATN.
