A state jury found three former Memphis police officers not guilty of second-degree murder in the 2023 beating death of Tyre Nichols that helped galvanize a movement to reform police conduct.

The jurors deliberated for more than eight hours after listening to days of testimony that delved into the minutes after police pulled over Nichols for a traffic stop and when the 29-year-old FedEx worker was repeatedly hit and kicked by the officers. The verdict is a blow for police reform advocates who hoped a guilty verdict would motivate support for their efforts. But supporters of the officers say that they were following police procedure and that the prosecution was driven by public outcry.

Prosecutors argued that the former officers had a duty to protect Nichols but became angry when he fled after being pulled over. Attorneys for the men warned jurors that a conviction would hurt law enforcement’s ability to aggressively pursue suspects in a violent city.