Justin Smith Jr. biography: 13 things about former Memphis, Tennessee cop

Justin Smith Jr. is an American man from Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, United States. He is a former Memphis Police Department officer.

Who is Justin Smith Jr.?

Smith is 5’11” tall and his registered weight is 205 pounds. Here are 10 more things about him:

1. He was born in 1995.
2. In March 2018, the Memphis Police Department hired him.
3. On January 7, 2023, he and his fellow Memphis Police Department officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr. allegedly caused the injuries of Memphis man Tyre Nichols, who was pronounced dead on January 10, 2023.
4. On January 20, 2023, the Memphis Police Department fired him.
5. On January 25, 2023, Memphis Police Department chief CJ Davis said he, Mills, Bean, Haley and Martin were found to be directly responsible for the physical abuse of Nichols.
6. On the morning of January 26, 2023, he was arrested and booked into the Shelby County Jail in Memphis. In the afternoon, he posted a $250,000 bond and was released.
7. On January 27, 2023, video of the confrontation between Nichols, Bean, Haley, Martin, Mills and him was released.
8. On February 17, 2023, he pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, official oppression, aggravated kidnapping while possessing a weapon, aggravated assault – acting in concert, official misconduct thru unauthorized exercising of official power, two counts of aggravated kidnapping causing bodily injury and two counts of official misconduct through failure to perform a duty imposed by law.
9. On March 24, 2023, the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission voted to decertify him, Haley and Martin.
10. On June 21, 2023, he filed a motion in criminal court, asking for a separate trial.
11. On September 12, 2023, he was federally charged with using excessive force, aiding and abetting each other in using excessive force, failing to intervene to stop excessive force, failing to render medical aid and conspiring or taking action to cover up misconduct.
12. On October 3, 2024, he was found guilty of obstruction of justice through witness tampering but acquitted of conspiracy to witness tampering, deliberate indifference and deprivation of rights resulting in bodily injury. The US Marshals took him into custody.
13. On January 22, 2025, he will be sentenced.