Ex-officer who pleaded guilty on Tyre Nichols: ‘He was helpless’

(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — “I wanted some kind of revenge. I was seeing red,” one of the former Memphis, Tennessee, officers who pleaded guilty to charges connected to the death of Tyre Nichols said on the witness stand Monday evening.

The federal trial of three former Memphis police officers charged in connection with the January 2023 beating death of Nichols continued Tuesday morning after prosecutors called ex-officer Emmitt Martin III to the stand, according to WATN-TV, the ABC affiliate in Memphis covering the case in the courtroom.

Martin, whose nickname on the force was “Full Can” for what prosecutors said was his use of pepper spray against suspects, started Tuesday’s testimony by watching the footage from the night of Nichols’ stop, WATN reported.

“They were assaulting him,” Martin said of his former partners. “I was already angry that he ran. I kicked him … They [his former partners] were holding him up. He was helpless.”

Martin admitted to kicking Nichols four times and punching him five times and said the Memphis resident remained passive even when officers were aggressive with him, according to WATN.

Martin testified at the trial of former officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith — who were charged on Sept. 12, 2023, with violating Nichols’ civil rights through excessive use of force, unlawful assault, failing to intervene in the assault and failing to render medical aid. These charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The officers have pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Martin and Desmond Mills Jr, the two other officers who were also charged in this case, have pleaded guilty to some of the federal charges.

Martin pleaded guilty to excessive force and failure to intervene, as well as conspiracy to witness tamper, according to court records. The other two charges will be dropped at sentencing, which has been scheduled for Dec. 5, according to the court records. Mills pleaded guilty to two of the four counts in the indictment — excessive force and failing to intervene, as well as conspiring to cover up his use of unlawful force, according to the DOJ. The government said it will recommend a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, based on the terms of Mills’ plea agreement.

“You get your a– beat,” Martin said when prosecutors asked about a term his former unit used called the “run tax”, which referred to the consequences suspects paid for running from police, WATN reported.

Body camera video shows Martin tossing his camera so their confrontation with Nichols wouldn’t be recorded. Martin admitted to not using his body camera video and said he was unaware of the Skycop camera recording the incident above them until he saw it on the news, WATN noted.

“If I couldn’t justify, I would have to cover it up. I’m not going to tell on them [my partners] and they’re not going to tell on me. It was understood,” Martin said. “I lied.”

According to WATN, in police reports, narratives read that Nichol swung at officers and tried to grab Martin’s gun. Martin said he never saw that occur.

The ex-officer claimed that he was hit by a car in November 2022 and returned to work Jan. 3, 2023, according to WATN. Martin said he was scared, angry and eager to show he could still do the job and wanted revenge for being struck by a vehicle.

On Jan. 7. 2023, the night Nichols was pulled over, Martin said he saw Nichols speeding and changing lanes without a signal, WATN reported. The former officer said he ran Nichols’ license plate and it came back clean. Martin claimed that he switched to car-to-car radio channels and reached out to Haley, who said he would take the lead on apprehending Nichols.

Prosecutors noted that Martin and Haley were called the “Smash Brothers,” according to WATN.

Martin said he blocked Nichols’ car once he caught up to him — a maneuver department policy designates only for felonies — resulting in Martin escalating it to a felony stop even though it wasn’t, WATN reported.

Martin claimed that he and Haley both approached Nichols’ vehicle with guns drawn and Haley pulled him out, WATN noted.

“No, never got a chance to,” Martin said when asked if he gave Nichols any reasons for why they pulled him over, according to WATN. “Just didn’t.”

“You can be charged by the department and possibly [end up] here,” Martin said when prosecutors asked what his police training taught him about use of force, WATN reported.

Martin said they should’ve analyzed the situation first and gotten control of Nichols’ hands, WATN noted. He added that conflicting commands were given to Nichols during the arrest.

Body-camera footage shows that Nichols fled after police pulled him over for allegedly driving recklessly, then shocked him with a Taser and pepper-sprayed him. Officers allegedly then beat Nichols minutes after. Nichols, 29, died on Jan. 10, 2023 — three days later. Footage shows the officers walking around, talking to each other as Nichols was injured and sitting on the ground. The incident triggered protests and calls for police reform.

Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said she has been unable to substantiate that Nichols was driving recklessly.

The prosecution told ABC News Thursday that they will not have any statements until after the trial. The defense attorneys did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

After the police encounter, Nichols was transferred to the hospital in critical condition. The medical examiner’s official autopsy report for Nichols showed he “died of brain injuries from blunt force trauma,” the district attorney’s office told Nichols’ family in May 2023.

The five former officers charged in this case were all members of the Memphis Police Department SCORPION unit — a crime suppression unit that was disbanded after Nichols’ death. All of the officers were fired for violating MPD policies.

SCORPION’s goal was to get guns and drugs off the street. Martin said that officers were picked based on productivity and remaining a member of the team depended on their statistics, WATN reported. Martin said they had zero arrests the night he spotted Nichols and they were told that if one officer had hands on someone that everyone had to have hands on them, WATN noted.

The trial was paused for lunch and Martin’s testimony continued after, according to WATN.

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