A former Memphis police officer, Desmond Mills, confessed under a plea deal about his involvement in covering up the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols. He admitted that his motivation for participating in the cover-up was to safeguard his job and hoped that Nichols would survive, and the situation would eventually fade away. Mills, along with another former officer, Emmitt Martin, testified against three ex-colleagues: Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith, who are on trial for the fatal beating.
During his testimony, Mills revealed that he went along with the cover-up in the hopes that the incident would blow over. He mentioned telling his supervisor that Nichols’ arrest had been conducted “by the book.” Nichols passed away in the hospital on Jan. 10, 2023, three days after being beaten by the officers. Mills stated that he felt pressured to protect his job as he needed it to support his family, including his three young children.
Mills expressed remorse for his actions, admitting to feeling sorry for making Nichols’ child fatherless. The officers involved used pepper spray and a Taser on Nichols, a Black man, during a traffic stop. When Nichols attempted to flee, the officers, who were also Black, chased and assaulted him near his residence while he called out for his mother. Mills disclosed that the officers had an unspoken agreement not to report the punches and kicks administered to Nichols in the required response to resistance reports, and also fabricated details to depict themselves in a better light.
In his testimony, Mills confessed to using pepper spray and a baton on Nichols but failed to provide aid or disclose the extent of force used when Nichols received medical treatment. Under cross-examination, Mills admitted to not intervening when Nichols was being handcuffed or being punched by another officer. Mills and Martin admitted to lying to internal investigators and were questioned about the influence of Department of Justice prosecutors on their testimonies.
An autopsy report confirmed that Nichols succumbed to head injuries inflicted during the beating. Haley, Bean, and Smith pleaded not guilty to federal charges related to excessive force, failure to intervene, and obstruction of justice through witness tampering. Additionally, all five officers, including Mills and Martin, faced second-degree murder charges in state court and entered not guilty pleas. However, Mills and Martin are anticipated to change their pleas. The trial date for the state court proceedings is yet to be scheduled.