Federal trial of former officers charged in Tyre Nichols’ death to begin
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(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the federal trial of three former Memphis officers charged in connection with the death of Tyre Nichols: Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith
Nichols, 29, died several days after a January 2023 traffic stop captured in body camera footage and surveillance footage, which allegedly shows officers violently striking Nichols repeatedly and walking around, talking to each other as Nichols was injured and sitting on the ground. His fatal beating triggered protests and calls for police reform.
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.
Five former officers were charged, including Bean, Haley and Smith who are now on trial and have pleaded not guilty, as well as Desmond Mills Jr. and Emmitt Martin III, who have pleaded guilty to some of the federal charges.
Bean, Haley and Smith are accused of violating Nichols’ civil rights through excessive use of force, unlawful assault, failing to intervene in the assault, failing to render medical aid, and conspiring to engage in misleading conduct by attempting to falsify or intentionally withholding details of the arrest in statements and to a supervisor.
Police said Nichols was pulled over for reckless driving, though Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said she has been unable to substantiate that.
While Nichols’ mother has said that first responders told her her son was drunk and high, the autopsy report shows that his blood alcohol level was .049, the DA’s office said. The district attorney’s office told the family that was “well less than the legal limit to drive.”
If convicted, two of the counts in the indictment carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, while the other two each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, according to the DOJ.
Martin pleaded guilty to excessive force and failure to intervene, as well as conspiracy to witness tamper, according to the court records. The other two charges will be dropped at sentencing, which has been scheduled for Dec. 5, according to the online 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.
All five former officers also face state felony charges, including second-degree murder, aggravated assault and aggravated kidnapping, in connection with Nichols’ death. They pleaded not guilty.
(NEW YORK) — Harvey Weinstein was rushed from Rikers Island, where he is being held, to Bellevue Hospital for emergency heart surgery after experiencing chest pains, his representatives told ABC News.
“Mr. Weinstein was rushed to Bellevue Hospital last night due to several medical conditions,” Weinstein representatives Craig Rothfeld and Juda Engelmayer said in a statement. “We can confirm that Mr. Weinstein had a procedure and surgery on his heart today however cannot comment any further than that.”
They continued, “As we have extensively stated before, Mr. Weinstein suffers a plethora of significant health issues that need ongoing treatment. We are grateful to the executive team at the New York City Department of Correction and Rikers Island for acting swiftly in taking him to Bellevue Hospital.”
The emergency comes as Weinstein, 72, is due in court this week in New York, where prosecutors had been presenting evidence to a grand jury as they work to secure a new indictment against Weinstein on sex crimes charges.
Weinstein has denied any wrongdoing and has said his sexual encounters with women were consensual.
Weinstein has appeared in court recently in a wheelchair and has asked to stay in custody at Rikers, where he has been undergoing medical care.
In a shocking move this April, the New York Court of Appeals, in a scathing 4-3 opinion, overturned Weinstein’s conviction on sex crimes against three women, finding the trial judge “erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes.”
The court said that testimony “served no material non-propensity purpose” and “portrayed defendant in a highly prejudicial light.”
However, the Manhattan district attorney’s office has since presented evidence to a grand jury that could return a new indictment against Weinstein over an alleged sexual assault that occurred sometime in a four-month time period between late 2005 and mid-2006 in a lower Manhattan residential building, according to a transcript of an unannounced court hearing last week.
Prosecutors also indicated during a hearing on Sept. 3 that they were aware of two other potential offenses: a sexual assault in May 2016 in a hotel in Tribeca and a potential sexual assault that occurred at the Tribeca Grand hotel.
This isn’t the first time Weinstein has been rushed to a hospital recently. In July, he was transferred to Bellevue after testing positive for COVID-19 and double pneumonia, according to his Rothfeld.
(NEW YORK) — On the night he was elected the 110th mayor of New York City, former police Capt. Eric Adams vowed to fight for those “this city has betrayed.”
“This city betrayed New Yorkers every day, especially the ones who rely on it the most. My fellow New Yorkers, that betrayal stops on January 1,” Adams said that night in November 2021.
For the past year, federal authorities have been investigating the possibility of corruption at City Hall, issuing subpoenas for Adams and members of his inner circle.
On Thursday, New York Police Commissioner Edward Caban resigned a week after sources told ABC News the FBI seized his cell phone as part of the federal investigation.
Caban released a statement saying he was stepping down because the “noise around recent developments” had made his primary focus on the NYPD “impossible and has hindered the important work our city requires.” He said he will “continue to fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation.”
Caban’s family has connections to nightlife. Richard Caban, the brother of Edward Caban and a former NYPD lieutenant, owned a now-shuttered Bronx restaurant, Con Sofrito. Edward Caban’s twin brother, James Caban, a former NYPD sergeant, owned a Bronx apartment building that once had a bar on the first floor named Twins.
Meanwhile, Adams has denied any wrongdoing. The mayor has not been charged with any crimes stemming from the investigations.
Federal authorities have not commented on what they are specifically investigating. Sources have told ABC News that one of the probes concerns city contracts and a second involves the enforcement of regulations governing bars and clubs.
“I say over and over again, as a former member of law enforcement, I’m very clear. We follow the rules. We make sure that we cooperate and turn over any information that is needed and it just really would be inappropriate to get in the way of the review while it’s taking place,” Adams said in an interview with CBS New York on Sept. 5.
None of the mayor’s aides who have been subpoenaed, had their homes searched, or their electronic devices seized by investigators have been charged with any crimes.
Here is a timeline of the subpoenas, searches and seizures dogging Adams and his inner circle:
Nov. 2, 2023 – FBI agents search the Crown Heights, Brooklyn, home of Brianna Suggs, a campaign consultant and top fundraiser for Adams. Federal agents also search the New Jersey home of Rana Abbasova, the mayor’s international affairs aid. That same day, Adams unexpectedly returned to New York from Washington, D.C., to “address the matter,” despite planned meetings with White House officials and other big city mayors on immigration. The investigation involves a construction company, KSK Construction Group, based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, sources told ABC News. KSK donated about $14,000 to Adams’ 2021 campaign. Suggs has not been charged with any crimes connected to the probe.
Nov. 6, 2023 – The FBI seizes Mayor Adams’ electronic devices, including an iPad and a cell phone, as part of a federal probe. Sources told ABC News that the investigation was seeking to determine whether the mayor’s campaign received illegal foreign donations from Turkey with a Brooklyn construction company as a conduit.
Nov. 15, 2023 – Adams launches a legal defense fund intended to defray expenses in connection with inquiries by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York into his mayoral 2021 campaign committee.
Jan. 15, 2024 – Vito Pitta, Adam’s longtime campaign compliance lawyer, releases a statement saying the mayor’s legal defense fund had raised $650,000 in just two months.
Feb. 29, 2024 – The FBI, investigating Adam’s fundraising, searches the Bronx home of Winnie Greco, the director of Asian affairs for Adam’s administration. The probe also involves a construction company, KSK Construction Group, sources tell ABC News.
April 5, 2024 – ABC News reports that the FBI is investigating whether Adams received free upgrades on Turkish Airlines, Turkey’s national carrier.
July 2024 – Federal prosecutors in New York serve Adams grand jury subpoenas as part of what sources tell ABC News is an ongoing corruption investigation involving whether his campaign sought illegal donations from Turkey in exchange for pressuring the fire department to rush an inspection of the new Turkish consulate in New York City. The subpoenas seek communications and documents from the mayor, according to sources. In an interview with ABC New York station WABC, Adams says, “Like previous administrations that have gone through subpoenas, you participate and cooperate. You see a subpoena, and you respond. At the end of the day, it will show there is no criminality here.”
Sept. 4, 2024 – The FBI conducts searches at the homes of two of Adams’ closest aids. Federal agents search the upper Manhattan home of First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, who is engaged to Schools Chancellor David Banks. Agents also search the Hollis, Queens, home of Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks. The FBI seized evidence, including electronics, as part of the searches, sources told ABC News. David and Phil Banks are brothers and both have known Adams for years.
Sept. 5, 2024 – ABC News reports that federal investigators subpoenaed the cell phones of four high-ranking New York Police Department officials, including NYPD Commissioner Caban. The subpoenas are part of the same investigation that sent the FBI to search the homes of Deputy Mayors Wright and Banks, sources told ABC News. Tim Pearson, a close adviser to Adams, also receives a subpoena for his cell phone, sources said. The subpoenas, according to sources, are connected to an undisclosed investigation separate from one into whether Adams allegedly accepted illegal donations from Turkey in exchange for official favors.
Sept. 10, 2024 – Adams declines to say at a news conference if he remains confident in Police Commissioner Caban amid news reports claiming Caban is under pressure to resign. When asked if he was confident in Caban’s leadership, Adams says, “I have the utmost confidence in the New York City Police Department.”
Sept. 12, 2024 — Commissioner Caban resigns. His attorneys, Russell Capone and Rebekah Donaleski, release a statement saying they have been informed that Caban is “not a target of any investigation being conducted by the Southern District of New York” and that he “expects to cooperate fully with the government.” Caban says in a statement, “My complete focus must be on the NYPD — the Department I profoundly honor and have dedicated my career to serving. However, the noise around recent developments has made that impossible and has hindered the important work our city requires. I have therefore decided it is in the best interest of the Department that I resign as Commissioner.”
Adams confirms he accepts Caban’s resignation and announces he has appointed former FBI agent and former New York Homeland Security Director Tom Donlon as interim commissioner. “I respect his decision and I wish him well,” the mayor says of Caban. “Commissioner Caban dedicated his life to making our city safe, and we saw a drop in crime for the 13 of the 14 months that he served as commissioner.”
(NEW YORK) — Inflatable structures like bounce houses and moonwalks are staples at children’s birthday parties and summer carnivals. Despite the fun they bring, the wind can make them dangerous — it’s something multiple families found out the hard way this year.
Shock and chaos ensued as families rushed for cover at an Alabama work picnic last Saturday, when strong winds swept away an inflatable slide during a severe thunderstorm.
“I’ve never seen a bounce house take off like that,” witness Joshua Cofield said. “It was just a crazy, freak accident. I was shocked. I was not expecting it because from where I was at, I could not see the bounce house, but when it came into the frame, it blew my mind.”
Cofield and other witnesses stated that the two inflatables knocked over by the storm each had four to six stakes to secure them to the ground, but even that wasn’t enough.
Experts from safety group Weather to Bounce say all inflatables should have stakes firmly planted in the ground, along with sandbags to weigh them down.
Saturday’s incident just one of many weather-related incidents involving large inflatables, which can cause serious injury and even death.
In April, a bounce house incident in Casa Grande, Arizona, killed a 2-year-old child. Another child was injured when the inflatable was carried away by the wind and landed in a neighboring lot.
Also in April, a Victorville, California, family experienced some turbulent weather that created a frightening scene. A video captured a dust devil forming in their backyard and whipping a bounce house high into the air while children were playing in the pool.
“It was very dangerous,” homeowner Yvonne Iribe said.
A University of Georgia study found that wind-related bounce house accidents injured at least 479 people and killed 28 worldwide from 2000 to 2021, with those numbers only rising since.
Wendy and Mitch Hammond spoke out about a horrifying incident that befell them in July 2019, after their kids Lizzy, Danny and Abby were invited to a birthday party in Reno, Nevada. The festivities included an inflatable bounce house and slide.
A sudden gust of wind lifted both inflatables into the air — Lizzy, Danny and the birthday boy were trapped inside the bounce house.
“It flew over me and as I stood up is when I turned and saw the bounce house up in the power lines hanging there,” Wendy Hammond said.
She recalled the family trying to get the bounce house down.
“It was out of reach. First responders get there. And they had too short of a ladder on their fire truck,” she said. “So then we all had to wait. While you’re screaming up at the bounce house, trying to see which kid you can hear.”
Rescuers reached the children and the boys were treated for minor injuries. However, 9-year-old Lizzy did not survive.
“It was blunt force trauma to the spine,” Mitch Hammond said. “And at that point, we decided to put her on life support and tried to harvest what we could to help other kids.”
Days later, family and friends honored Lizzy’s life with an emotional honor walk at the hospital.
The Hammonds now operate the Lizzy Hammond Foundation, to educate and advocate for legislative change. What gives them peace is knowing their late daughter’s organs gave life to others.
“I would like her legacy to be that she saved three kids, you know?” Mitch Hammond said. “So she still was a giver all the way to the very end.”
