A second former Memphis police officer changed his plea to guilty on Friday in connection to alleged civil rights violations that ended in the beating death of Tyre Nichols.
A change of plea for former officer Emmitt Martin was entered in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Mark Norris in Memphis, with prosecutors saying they'll ask for a 40-year-sentence.
The former police officer pleaded guilty to using excessive force and witness tampering.
Back in November, another former Memphis officer, Desmond Mills Jr., changed his plea to guilty to federal charges of excessive force and obstruction of justice. The defendant agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and face up to 15 years behind bars.
"It was good to finally hear him admit the guilt," the victim's mother, RowVaughn Wells, told reporters outside court. "For them to plead guilty is something. I feel like we're going the right direction, accepting responsibility."
The grieving mother said she recently found an old text message, the last one she ever exchanged with Nichols. She had asked him to bring home some red licorice and her son dutifully said yes.
"This is very difficult. I have four children, one of my kids is gone now because of the Memphis Police Department," Wells said. "Tyre was just coming home, he was minding is own business and he was just coming home."
The 29-year-old Nichols died in the hospital several days following a traffic stop on Jan. 7, 2023. Several Memphis police officers were recorded on cameras kicking, punching and hitting him with a baton.
Martin’s defense lawyer, Stephen Ross Johnson, said his client is accepting responsibility for his actions.
“Emmitt Martin was driven by anger when on Jan. 7 of 2023, he admits that he violated Mr. Nichols’ civil rights and used excessive force," Johnson said. "He was driven by fear when he later attempted to cover that up — fear of the consequences of what he had done."
The other officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith — have pleaded not guilty to federal and state charges connected to Nichols, who was Black. All five officers, who are also Black, were put on administrative leave before they were eventually fired.
"The dominoes are starting to fall," family lawyer Ben Crump said. "We expect the other officers to also do the same."
The killing of Nichols was among several deadly confrontations in the early 2020s that shined new light on police use of force against Black people. His name is often mentioned in the same breath as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Daunte Wright.
Officers reportedly pulled over Nichols for reckless driving, but Memphis police later said there was no evidence to support a stop.
Nichols fled on foot and when officers caught up with him, the young man was just a block away from where his mother and stepfather live.
He was kicked in the head and beaten with batons as he called out for his mother, video showed.
Despite extensive video, Crump said he's never confident there will be convictions against police.
"You know, this is not something we ever take for granted that police officers will be held accountable and sentenced to real prison time for killing Black people in America," he said. "Normally, we see a slap on the wrist."
The former officer is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 5.
