MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A former Tennessee police officer charged in last year’s fatal beating of Memphis motorist Tyre Nichols intends to change his not guilty plea in federal court on Friday, according to court filings.
Emmitt Martin is one of five former officers charged in Nichols’ death after he was pulled from his car and brutally beaten, then left without medical help for more than 20 minutes.
The five were indicted in September on federal charges that they deprived the 29-year-old FedEx worker and father of his rights through excessive force and failure to intervene, and obstructed justice through witness tampering.
Desmond Mills Jr., pleaded guilty to the federal charges on Nov. 2 and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors who recommended a 15-year prison sentence. The plea was part of a larger agreement in which Mills will also plead guilty in state court, where the five former officers are charged with second-degree murder. The state trial has been postponed until the federal proceedings are complete.
