Ex-officer in Tyre Nichols beating case texted photos from fateful night, former girlfriend testifies
A former Memphis police officer on trial in the beating death of Tyre Nichols texted photos of a bloodied Nichols to his then-girlfriend, she said Wednesday during testimony.
Brittany Leake, an officer with the Memphis Police Department (MPD) who used to date Demetrius Haley, said Haley texted her and one of her family members a photo of Nichols that showed the 29-year-old leaning against a police car, bleeding from his mouth, wearing a torn shirt, appearing dirty and with his eyes closed, according to WATN, the ABC affiliate in Memphis covering the case in the courtroom.
Haley is on trial along with Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean, who 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, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The officers have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
“I wasn’t offended, but it was difficult to look at,” Leake said, claiming she deleted the photo, according to WATN.
Leake said she told Haley that Nichols needed to go to the trauma center, according to WATN. She claimed Haley previously sent her other photos from his patrols, including pictures of a burned suspect. Leake testified that she has never sent photos from the job in her two years as an MPD officer because it is against department policy, according to WATN.
Prosecutors on Wednesday also called to the stand Jesse Guy, a former Memphis Fire Department paramedic who cared for Nichols on the scene and in the ambulance that transported him to St. Francis Hospital, according to WATN.
Guy said when he first arrived on the scene, an emergency medical technician (EMT) told him Nichols “just went out,” according to WATN. Guy claimed he heard one of the officers say Nichols took something.
Guy testified that Nichols was unresponsive, had head swelling, scratches and marks around his neck and blood spilling from his mouth, according to WATN.
“It’s time to go,” Guy told prosecutors he was thinking after Nichols had no pulse and was unresponsive to Narcan, an overdose reversal drug, according to WATN. “I felt like something was going on.”
Guy said he gave Nichols oxygen, intubated him, removed his wet clothes and attempted with no success to defibrillate his heart, according to WATN. After giving Nichols epinephrine, more oxygen and sodium bicarbonate, Guy said there was still no pulse.
“I was trying to save his life,” Guy said, according to WATN.
Guy claimed he decided Nichols must go to the closest hospital to get better care, according to WATN. By the time they arrived at St. Francis Hospital, the former paramedic said they were able to get Nichols’ heart beating again.
Guy noted that when he asked one of the officers involved in the encounter what happened, the officer responded with a sigh.
“Never mind,” Guy said he told the officer because the paramedic thought the policeman was going to give him “B.S.” according to WATN.
Guy said during cross-examination that EMTs on the scene when he arrived had not assessed Nichols and didn’t tell him much about Nichols’ health status, according to WATN.
When defense attorneys asked Guy about information he received from the EMTs who were already on site, Guy claimed that the EMTs told him they heard Nichols moan in response to one of the medics.
Michael Stengel, Haley’s attorney, asked Guy when he knew Nichols was going through a medical emergency, according to WATN.
“When I laid eyes on him,” Guy said.
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. Nichols, 29, died on Jan. 10, 2023. Footage shows the officers walking around, talking to each other as Nichols was injured and sitting on the ground. The incident triggered protests and calls for police reform.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said she has been unable to substantiate that Nichols was driving recklessly.
The prosecution told ABC News last week that they will not have any statements until after the trial. The defense attorneys did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.
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.
Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr., the two other officers who were also charged in this case, have pleaded guilty to some of the federal charges. 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. 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.
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.
ABC News' Deena Zaru and Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.
