A second former Memphis police officer involved in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols has pleaded guilty, according to court filings, just weeks before the trial was set to begin.
Emmitt Martin III, one of five former officers charged last year with federal civil rights violations, conspiracy, and obstruction related to Nichols’ death, changed his plea to guilty on two of the charges during a hearing in federal court in Memphis on Friday afternoon, as indicated by online court records.
Initially, Martin had pleaded not guilty to all charges. However, during the recent hearing, he admitted guilt to charges of excessive force, failure to intervene, and conspiracy to tamper with a witness. The other two charges against him will be dropped during sentencing, which is scheduled for December 5, according to the records.
The government has stated it will recommend a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, as outlined in the plea agreement.
In the agreement, Martin confessed to unlawfully assaulting Nichols alongside the other defendants and attempting to persuade his supervisor to file false and misleading statements in the incident report to cover up the excessive force used on Nichols.
Martin’s attorney, Stephen Ross Johnson, told media, “Driven by anger, Emmitt Martin used excessive force on Tyre Nichols on January 7, 2023. Driven by fear, he tried to cover it up. Today, in open court, he accepted responsibility for what he did.”
Martin is the second former officer to plead guilty before the federal trial, which is set to begin next month.
In November 2023, another former officer, Desmond Mills Jr., pleaded guilty to two of the four charges against him—excessive force and failing to intervene, as well as conspiracy to cover up his use of unlawful force—as part of a plea deal with prosecutors. The government at that time recommended a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison based on Mills’ plea agreement.
RowVaughn Wells, Tyre Nichols’ mother, described Martin’s plea as “bittersweet.” During a press briefing after the hearing, she said, “This is very difficult. I have four children. One of my kids is gone now because of the Memphis Police Department.” Wells expressed her hope that the remaining three defendants would plead guilty to avoid a trial, saying, “I don’t want to put my kids through all of that, but if we have to, we will.”
Nichols, 29, died on January 10, 2023, three days after a violent encounter with police during a traffic stop. The medical examiner’s report confirmed he died from brain injuries caused by blunt force trauma.
The federal indictment charges that Martin, Mills, and three other former officers—Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith—violated Nichols’ constitutional rights during the confrontation. The indictment alleges that each officer was involved in the beating and that none of them reported the assault to the Memphis police dispatcher, their supervisor, or the emergency medical personnel who were on their way to the scene.
The indictment further claims that the officers discussed the beating at the scene but did not disclose the information to first responders or their supervisors, even as Nichols’ condition worsened and he became unresponsive.
As part of his plea agreement, Mills admitted to repeatedly and unjustifiably striking Nichols with a baton and failing to intervene in other officers’ use of force, according to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release. Mills also admitted to not providing medical aid to Nichols despite knowing he was in serious need of help and failing to inform police or EMTs that Nichols had been struck in the head and body. Mills further admitted to making false statements about Nichols’ arrest and the use of force in a Memphis Police Department report.
The other three defendants have pleaded not guilty to the federal charges. Their trial is scheduled to start on September 9 and is expected to last three weeks. If convicted, two of the charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison, while the other two each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years, according to the DOJ.
Read More: Former Tennessee Officer Charged in Tyre Nichols’ Death Set to Change Plea
In addition to the federal charges, all five former officers face state felony charges, including second-degree murder, aggravated assault, and aggravated kidnapping, in connection with Nichols’ death. They have pleaded not guilty to these charges as well.
Following an investigation into Nichols’ death, the Memphis Police Department fired all five officers, who were members of the now-disbanded SCORPION unit.
