Defence lawyers seek to introduce evidence about items found in Nichols’ car during the fatal incident

A federal judge has begun considering whether the jury in the trial of four former Memphis police officers should be allowed to hear about items found in Tyre Nichols’ car on the night he was brutally beaten. During a hearing on Tuesday, the officers’ defence teams argued that Nichols’ car contained evidence that could explain his behaviour during the incident, including hallucinogenic drugs and stolen credit cards. This evidence, they claim, may shed light on why Nichols didn’t immediately pull over when officers attempted to stop him and why he fled the scene after being pulled from his car.

Nichols, 29, was beaten by five officers after a traffic stop in January 2023, with the shocking incident captured on police bodycam footage. The officers were seen punching, kicking, and using a baton on Nichols as he lay on the ground. He later died from his injuries, sparking global outrage and calls for police reform.

The defence has sought to present evidence that Nichols’ behaviour could have been influenced by drugs, citing a report that revealed psilocybin, a hallucinogenic compound, was found in his car after the beating. The defence also argued that the presence of stolen credit cards and identification could explain Nichols’ flight from the scene. The officers, they say, believed Nichols was under the influence of drugs, a theory that they suggest aligns with their actions during the confrontation.

However, prosecutors have argued that this evidence should not be admitted, stating that it wasn’t known to the officers at the time of the incident and is irrelevant to whether their use of force was justified. They described the defence’s attempt to bring up the items as a posthumous character attack on Nichols, aimed at distracting from the officers’ actions.

Nichols’ autopsy confirmed that he died from blunt force trauma, but did not mention whether the hallucinogen was in his system at the time of the assault. The case continues to unfold, with the defence maintaining that the jury should hear all relevant facts, while the prosecution insists that only information available to the officers during the incident is pertinent to their defence.

Judge Mark Norris is expected to rule on whether the jury will be allowed to hear this new evidence, which could play a crucial role in the outcome of the trial.