5:05 p.m.: Tate was dismissed as a witness, and the jury was released for the day. Court will resume at 9 a.m. Saturday morning.

4:55 p.m.: John Tisdale was dismissed as a witness.

The defense then called on Curtis Tate, a Memphis Police officer, as a character witness for Justin Smith.

He described Smith as an “Honorable, honest guy, loving father and husband, gentle, and courageous.” Tate spoke of the five years he has known and worked with Smith, noting that the Smith he knows is “Incapable of being untruthful.”

“He (Smith) is incapable, in my opinion, of hurting any victim, any suspect, any citizen. If Justin Smith knew that a suspect was being treated unfairly, he would stop and intervene and confront that officer,” said Tate.

Prosecuting attorneys asked Tate if he believes good people can do bad things. Tate agreed.

4:38 p.m.: Court is on a brief break.

3:25 p.m.: John Tisdale, an expert witness in police policy and use of force, was called to the stand by Tadarrius Bean’s attorney, John Keith Perry. He was asked to review the Use of Force Continuum policy used by the MPD.

Perry asked Tisdale, with his experience, what would have happened had Bean not jumped out of the car to chase after Nichols that night.

“He would have been fired,” said Tisdale. “As a law enforcement officer, you know when other officers are after somebody, you have a responsibility to assist.”

He agreed with Perry that at that point, Bean had no other options but to help.

Tisdale testified that Bean used “open-hand techniques” when arriving on the second scene and getting involved in the altercation. He also noted that it is unclear when watching the body camera videos, if the kicks by other officers on the scene made contact with Nichols’ head.

Tisdale told the jury that he believes Bean’s actions on the scene were “reasonable.”

He told prosecuting attorneys that “under most circumstances,” kicking someone in the head who is on the ground would be unreasonable, although Tisdale did later agree with attorneys that any type of strike to the head could be considered deadly force.

2:14 p.m.: The jury has returned from lunch, and Jared Zwickey is continuing his testimony.

Justin Smith’s attorney, Martin Zummach, continued reviewing body camera footage from the altercation with Nichols. He asked Zwickey about the techniques used by Smith to detain Nichols.

“The pain compliance techniques had no effect on Tyre Nichols. Do you find that to be significant?” asked Zummach.

“I do. That immediately, from my experience in training, I think that individual might be on drugs, number one. Or be psychotic,” said Zwickey.

The witness also discussed “tunnel vision” and “auditory exclusion,” which he claims officers could experience while on a chaotic scene.

Zwickey says the former officer Desmond Mills, who was charged in the case but took plea deals on the federal and state levels, testified that he heard things on video that were said on the scene, but he did not remember hearing them in the moment.

Zwickey claims that due to “tunnel vision,” Smith was unaware of what the other officers were doing around him during the altercation.

Prosecuting attorneys discussed the officers’ duty to intervene. Only one of Nichols’ hands was in a handcuff, and Zwickey testified that a loose handcuff could be seen as a “dangerous weapon” when not under control.

“So, he (Smith) should hold on to that (handcuffed wrist) even if his partner is beating the guy to death?” asked a prosecuting attorney.

“Beating him to death? Well, if he’s beating him to death and the officer can see that he’s beating him to death, it would be his responsibility to try to stop that. He has a duty for that,” said Zwickey.

Prosecutors then opened conversation about Nichols’ alleged active resistance to officers. SkyCop camera footage, showing the officers’ strikes to Nichols while he was on the ground, was once again reviewed.

“Your testimony is that Tyre Nichols is still actively resisting?” asked prosecuting attorneys.

“Absolutely,” answered Zwickey.

“Not just trying to survive those kicks to the head?” asked prosecutors.

“I am telling you it’s active resistance,” said Zwickey.

Zwickey did agree that Demetrius Haley and Emmitt Martin’s kicks to Nichols would be categorized as excessive force, and the officers who witnessed the kicks would have a duty to intervene.

He was dismissed as a witness.

12:24 p.m.: The jury was dismissed for lunch. We will provide updates when they return around 2 p.m.

10:57 a.m.: Jared Zwickey, a law enforcement trainer who trains officers on deadly force and defensive tactics, testified as an expert witness. He told the jury he has 38 years of law enforcement experience and has previously trained agents with the FBI, Secret Service, and many departments across the country.

Justin Smith’s attorney, Martin Zummach, asked Zwickey about the strikes made to Nichols.

“You saw what we saw, right? They never made contact with the face or head. Correct?” asked Zummach.

“Oh, clearly. Yes,” answered Zwickey.

Zwickey told the jury that a scene is not secured until the arrestee has been searched and handcuffed. He agreed with Zummach that, due to Nichols not having been searched at any point during the incident, the scene was categorized as “unsecured and dangerous.”

10:00 a.m.: The defense first called Samantha Spencer, an independent forensic consultant and expert witness, to the stand. She discussed the DNA analysis of the officers’ boots that were worn on the scene of the beating.

According to Spencer, both Emmitt Martin’s and Demetrius Haley’s boots showed traces of blood, though the results came back inconclusive.

Traces of Tyre Nichols’ DNA were also found on the former officers’ boots, though Spencer agreed with prosecuting attorneys that more of Nichols’ DNA was found on Martin’s boot than Haley’s.

She testified that her findings correlated with what she watched in footage from body cameras and the sky cop camera, relating to the blunt force trauma to Nichols.

She said the strike that Haley made to Nichols may have been to an area that was clothed, like his torso, but Martin’s results showed that his kicks to Nichols would have been to an area like the face, due to blood being present in the DNA results.

Prosecuting attorneys then played the Skycop camera footage of the incident, breaking down the moments Haley and Martin were seen striking Nichols.

“Is it that kind of kick that could result in the transfer of Mr. Nichols’ DNA to Haley’s boot?” questioned prosecuting attorney Paul Haggerman.

“Yes,” said Spencer.

She was dismissed as a witness.

***

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Friday marks day five of the state murder trial for three former Memphis Police officers accused of beating Tyre Nichols to death during a Jan. 2023 traffic stop.

The state rested its case earlier this week, and the defense is in the process of presenting witnesses. Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith are all facing a second-degree murder charge in the case.

On Thursday, former Memphis Fire EMT Robert Long testified about the night he found himself on the scene of Nichols’ brutal beating. Long was terminated shortly after Nichols’ death.

“I’ve interacted with MPD before; this just felt different,” said Long.

He said he was only informed that Nichols had been pepper-sprayed, tasered, and had run from the scene. None of the officers informed him that Nichols had been punched and kicked multiple times in the head and body.

The defense also called multiple character witnesses to the stand on Thursday. Many of these witnesses described Tadarrius Bean as a “superb guy” who was “by-the-book.”

The trial is set to begin at 9 a.m. We will provide live updates to this story throughout the day.