
Second former Memphis police officer is changing his plea to guilty in Tyre Nichols’ death
CNN
A second former Memphis police officer charged in the violent arrest and beating death of Tyre Nichols intends to change his plea to guilty, according to federal court documents.
A second former Memphis police officer charged in the violent arrest and beating death of Tyre Nichols intends to change his plea to guilty, according to federal court documents. Former Memphis Police Officer Emmitt Martin III had previously pleaded not guilty to charges related to the death of Nichols, the 29-year-old Black man who was beaten by Memphis police officers following a traffic stop in January 2023. In November, former Memphis Police Officer Desmond Mills Jr. also agreed to plead guilty in the case as part of a global settlement to both the state and federal charges he was facing for his role in Nichols’ death. Mills Jr., 33, pleaded guilty to two of the four federal charges he was facing, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee. He also agreed to plead guilty in state court at an upcoming hearing on charges related to Nichols’ death, according to the Shelby County district attorney. Mills and Martin were among the five officers charged in the death. Three other former officers, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith, are still awaiting trial. A change of plea hearing has been set in Martin’s case for Friday at 3 p.m. ET, according to a notice filed with the Western District of Tennessee Federal Court. It’s unclear if Martin intends to change his plea in his state case.

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