Tag: Emmitt Martin III

Former Police Officer Pleading Guilty in Tyre Nichols’ Brutal Beating Death Admits to Repeatedly Striking Victim with Baton

M.D. Kittle

The former Memphis Police officer who took a plea deal in the brutal beating death of Tyre Nichols admitted to repeatedly striking the 27-year-old black man, among other criminal conduct, according to court records.

Desmond Mills Jr, 33, one of five former officers charged in the January homicide, on Thursday pleaded guilty to two felony counts against him — offering his full cooperation with prosecutors in exchange for a recommendation that he serve no more than 15 years in federal prison.

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Former Memphis Police Officer Charged in Tyre Nichols’ Murder Pleads Guilty to Two of Four Counts in Federal Plea Deal

M.D. Kittle

Desmond Mills Jr., one of five former Memphis police officers charged in the January beating death of Tyre Nichols during a traffic stop, has pleaded guilty to two of four criminal charges in the nationally watched federal civil rights case, and several charges in a state case.

Mills appeared Thursday morning before Judge Mark Norris in the Western District of Tennessee.

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Former Memphis Officers Federally Indicted in Tyre Nichols’ Death; Still Silence on ‘Vendetta’ Allegations

M.D. Kittle

If Tyre Nichols was targeted by members of a Memphis Police Department violent crime unit because of his alleged involvement with one of the officers’ ex-wives, there’s nothing on the subject included in a new federal indictment against the five former law enforcement officials.

A federal grand jury in Memphis on Tuesday returned a four-count indictment against Emmitt Martin III, 31; Tadarrius Bean, 24; Demetrius Haley, 30; Desmond Mills, Jr., 33; and Justin Smith, 28.

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Records: Former Memphis Police Officers Lied About Details of Tyre Nichols Traffic Stop

M.D. Kittle

Documents from Tennessee’s law enforcement regulatory and training agency are shining more light on the concerning conduct of the former Memphis Police officers involved in the Jan. 7 traffic stop that body cam video shows ended in the brutal beating of Tyre Nichols. 

A report filed with the Tennessee Peace Officers Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) Commission that sought the officers’ decertification includes a statement from Officer Justin Smith, who insists he used departmental training during Nichols’ arrest.

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Rumors Growing on Gang Involvement of Former Memphis Officers Charged in Tyre Nichols’ Death

M.D. Kittle

A long-time Memphis law enforcement source tells The Tennessee Star rumors about guards at the Shelby County Division of Corrections being involved in street gangs have been circulating for years, although he knows of no correction officer implicated such a crime. 

“There have always been rumors about that, but they’ve never been substantiated that I know of,”  the official with knowledge of the Shelby County criminal justice system told The Star. “The joke in Memphis criminal justice has long been the jailers are one step ahead of being in jail themselves.”

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Law Enforcement Concerned About New Wave of Riots in Wake of Tyre Nichols’ Death

M.D. Kittle

Protesters gathered in Milwaukee over the weekend to condemn police brutality following the release of video showing the brutal beating of Tyre Nichols by Memphis Police officers. 

Unlike the scenes of looting, violence and whole city blocks in flame that accompanied the anti-police protests during the long, hot summer of 2020, the demonstrations in Milwaukee and elsewhere were mostly peaceful. 

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