An out-of-town jury from a majority-white county took about 8 1/2 hours over two days to find Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith not guilty on all charges after a nine-day trial in state court in Memphis, which is majority-Black. After the jury’s verdict was read, the defendants hugged their lawyers as relatives of the former officers cried. Outside the courtroom, one relative yelled, “Thank you, Jesus!”
Martin Zummach, Smith’s attorney, told The Associated Press by text: “It’s easy to defend a good person. It’s nerve racking to represent an innocent man. “
https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8QBkS_wk32WqmDIbofsZCyneo1JbM3Tn
Watched the arrest video again last night. What stood out to me on the rewatch is that I might have reacted the same way to that initial traffic stop. The aggression those officers showed was intense - Tyre took off running because he thought they were trying to kill him, and he was right.
Great to see those with power receive special treatment. What would the rule of law mean if it was blind to privilege.
/s 🙄