A second former Memphis police officer involved in the January 2023 beating and murder of Tyre Nichols changed his plea to guilty on Friday. Three other defendants may now face federal trial on charges of violating Nichols’ civil rights.
Emmitt Martin III pleaded guilty to using excessive force and aiding and abetting the other officers’ use of excessive force, according to a Justice Department news release. He also pleaded guilty to conspiring to cover up wrongdoing.
His lawyer Stephen Ross Johnson said anger and fear influenced Martin’s actions that day.
“Out of anger, Emmitt Martin used excessive force against Tyre Nichols on January 7, 2023,” Johnson told The Washington Post in an email. “Out of fear, he tried to cover it up. Out of conscience, he accepted responsibility for his actions in court by pleading guilty.”
According to the Associated Press, prosecutors said they would seek a maximum prison sentence of 40 years at Martin’s sentencing on Dec. 5.
Nichols, 29, died after police officers beat him during a traffic stop. Body camera video shows officers pinning him to the ground, spraying him with chemical irritants, kicking him and hitting him with a baton. At one point, he screamed for his mother.
An official autopsy report provided to the family shows that Nichols died of blunt force trauma, her lawyers said.
In a joint statement, attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci said the other officers should be held accountable and that Martin’s confession was a good sign.
“The family is relieved that another officer has finally admitted responsibility for this heinous act,” the statement said. “His admission of guilt to the federal charges is a critical part of accountability, although state charges remain in place alongside our civil charges. This is another step on the long road to justice for Tyre.”
The federal case will be followed by a trial on state charges, including second-degree murder, Shelby County District Attorney Steven Mulroy (D) said last year.
Another former Memphis police officer, Desmond Mills Jr., pleaded guilty in November to excessive use of force and obstruction of justice in federal court and faces up to 15 years in prison.
Following the release of the bodycam footage shortly after Nichols’ death, hundreds of people across the country protested and held vigils for Nichols. On social media, people posted photos of sunsets in honor of Nichols’ passion for landscape photography.
A federal grand jury indicted Martin, Mills, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith on charges of excessive use of force, aiding and abetting the use of that excessive force, failing to intervene to stop the excessive use of force, failing to provide medical attention, and conspiring or covering up their wrongdoing. Bean, Haley, and Smith have pleaded not guilty to those charges.
Each of them is black, as is Nichols. All five officers have been fired. The remaining three defendants will face a federal trial scheduled for Sept. 9, the Justice Department press release said.
– – –
Dalton Bennett, Ellen Francis, Jennifer Hassan, Andrew Jeong, Robert Klemko, Joyce Sohyun Lee, Justine McDaniel, David Nakamura, Elyse Samuels and Adela Suliman contributed to this report.
