From [HERE] Five former Memphis, Tenn., police officers pleaded not guilty in the death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who died last month after being kicked and punched by police during a traffic stop.  

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith were arrested and charged with second-degree murder last month for Mr. Nichols’s death. 

They are also charged with aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. The men, who are also Black, were fired by the Memphis Police Department last month following an internal investigation.

Lawyers for each man entered not guilty pleas on all counts Friday in Shelby County Criminal Court.

Mr. Nichols died in a Memphis hospital Jan. 10, three days after officers pulled over his car, according to local police and Benjamin Crump, a lawyer for his family. His family said Mr. Nichols was fatally beaten beyond recognition. The Shelby County medical examiner’s office hasn’t released autopsy results.

Police body-camera footage showed several Memphis police officers repeatedly kicking and striking Mr. Nichols, including at times when he appeared defenseless and subdued. The footage, captured from a pole camera and body cameras, showed two officers striking Mr. Nichols as he lay on the street. As he tried to get up, a third officer kicked him in the head. Tennessee law-enforcement officials described the footage as appalling.

“This is the beginning of the process,” Mr. Nichols’s mother, RowVaughn Wells, said at a press briefing after Friday’s hearing. Ms. Wells said she is feeling numb, and plans to be at every court date. “I want each and every one of those police officers to be able to look me in the face, but they haven’t done that yet. They couldn’t even do that today,” she said. 

The next hearing is scheduled for May 1. 

Judge James Jones Jr. said in court Friday the case may take some time. 

“We understand that there may be some high emotions in this case, but we ask that you continue to be patient with us,” he said. “The state of Tennessee as well as each one of these defendants have an absolute right to a fair trial, and I will not allow any behavior that could jeopardize that right.”

Mr. Bean’s lawyer, John Keith Perry, said his client was doing his job, “no more, no less,” and asked people not to jump to conclusions.  

Blake Ballin, a lawyer for Mr. Mills, said the public should be patient and not judge his client. “Justice for Mr. Nichols will not be achieved at the expense of justice for Mr. Mills,” he said. 

Lawyers for Messrs. Haley, Martin and Smith didn’t respond to requests for comment. 

Investigations into Mr. Nichols’s death continue. The Memphis Police Department fired a sixth officer earlier this month, and other officers are under investigation, according to Jennifer Sink, chief legal officer for the city of Memphis. The police department also said it was disbanding its specialized Scorpion street-crime unit. Former officers charged in Mr. Nichols’s death were members of the unit.

Earlier this week, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said it suspended two sheriff’s deputies who were on the scene. Two former Memphis Fire Department emergency medical technicians had their licenses revoked for failure of duty. 

Federal prosecutors, meanwhile, are conducting a civil-rights investigation.