Jury sees video appearing to show medics failing to aid Tyre Nichols following beating
It took several minutes before a paramedic administered treatment.
A video displayed Thursday during the trial of three former Memphis officers charged in connection with the beating death of Tyre Nichols appeared to show two medics allegedly failing to immediately administer aid to a severely injured Nichols following the police encounter.
Body-worn police camera footage shows emergency medical technicians (EMT) JaMichael Sandridge and Robert Long standing close to Nichols while he remains on the ground, according to the Associated Press.
“Hey, man. Hey. Talk to me,” Long says to Nichols after approximately 5 minutes in the video, according to the Associated Press. Nichols does not respond.
Justin Smith, Demetrius Haley and Tadarrius Bean 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.
Nichols received medical treatment when paramedic Jesse Guy arrived at the site, according to other video The Associated Press stated was played at the trial.
Guy said in testimony Wednesday 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, the ABC affiliate in Memphis covering the case in the courtroom.
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, according to WATN.
Footage shows the officers walking around, talking to each other as Nichols was injured and sitting on the ground. Smith's lawyers played the video to show that the EMTs also failed to aid Nichols, according to The Associated Press.
Long and Sandridge were fired for violating fire department policies in Nichols’ death, but they have not been criminally charged, according to The Associated Press.
Guy said it would have helped to treat Nichols if he was given medical information, according to The Associated Press.
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.
Former Memphis Police Department (MPD) officer Kyle Coudriet and current MPD officer James Harvey were also called to the stand Thursday, according to WATN. Harvey claimed to have seen Haley apply unnecessary use of force when punching a suspect in a previous arrest unrelated to the Nichols case. Coudriet said he saw Martin striking a past suspected perpetrator and Haley punching two previous suspects, according to WATN.
“I was ashamed of not being able to stop the situation before it happened,” Coudriet said after admitting to covering his camera during one of the incidents, according to WATN.
Video from Coudriet’s body-worn camera allegedly shows Martin and Haley on top of one of the previous suspects throwing punches and then throwing him against a sliding door multiple times after being placed in handcuffs, according to WATN.
Harvey said that use of force was sometimes concealed by officers and if an officer reported a colleague’s misconduct, it could impact whether they would receive backup help when in need, according to WATN.
Harvey claimed on the stand that he didn’t report Haley for striking the previous suspect because he “didn’t want to be an outcast. It’s nice to know you have help coming,” according to WATN.
Both Harvey and Coudriet claimed they withheld information about Haley’s and Martin’s use of force with the previous suspects from FBI agents during past interviews because they were “scared,” according to WATN
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. 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.
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.