Current:Home > NewsEx-officer testifies he beat a ‘helpless’ Tyre Nichols then lied about it -WealthX
Ex-officer testifies he beat a ‘helpless’ Tyre Nichols then lied about it
View
Date:2025-04-15 00:02:03
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A former Memphis police officer testified Tuesday that he punched a “helpless” Tyre Nichols at least five times while two colleagues held his arms and said “hit him,” then lied to his supervisor about their use of force in a beating that proved fatal.
Emmitt Martin III testified that he was at the traffic stop on Jan, 7, 2023, when Nichols was pulled over and yanked from his car. Nichols fled, but Martin has said Tadarrius Bean and Justin Smith gave chase and were punching the 29-year-old man without their handcuffs out when Martin caught up with them.
“They were assaulting him,” Martin said Tuesday.
Bean, Smith and Demetrius Haley have pleaded not guilty to charges that they deprived Nichols of his civil rights through excessive force and failure to intervene, and obstructed justice through witness tampering.
The four men, along with Desmond Mills Jr., were fired by the police department after Nichols’ death. The beating was caught on police video, which was released to the public. The officers were later indicted by a federal grand jury. Martin and Mills have taken plea deals and are testifying against their former colleagues.
Jurors watched video clips as Nichols’ mother and stepfather, RowVaughn and Rodney Wells, sat outside the courtroom. RowVaughn Wells has never seen the video. Nichols’ brother watched the video inside.
Martin said he was angry that Nichols had run from the traffic stop, and that the team had not yet made any arrests that night.
“I figured that’s what he should get,” Martin said.
Prosecutor Kathryn Gilbert asked Martin whether officers were allowed to use force because they are angry.
“No ma’am,” he said, adding that he should have intervened.
Martin said he threw his body camera on the ground.
“I didn’t want to show what we were doing,” he said “We were assaulting Mr. Nichols.”
Martin said he kicked Nichols, while Mills hit him with a baton. Then Martin said he punched Nichols at least five times while Bean and Smith held his arms and urged Martin on. Officers were holding his arms while also giving him commands to give them his hands.
“He was helpless,” Martin said of Nichols.
Martin said he did not tell Lt. Dewayne Smith, his supervisor, about their use of force. Martin said he told Smith that Nichols was high, without evidence, and that officers lied about Nichols driving into oncoming traffic and taking a swing at them during the traffic stop.
Martin testified that while he felt pressure on his gun belt at the scene of the traffic stop, he never saw Nichols put his hands on his gun. Yet, Martin said, he told his supervisor that Nichols had his hands on his weapon.
“I exaggerated his actions to justify mine,” Martin said.
He said colleagues understood that, “they weren’t going to tell on me, and I wasn’t going to tell on them.”
Martin said they violated department policy with their use of force and lying about it.
Nichols, who was Black, was pepper sprayed and hit with a stun gun during the traffic stop, but ran away, police video shows. The five officers, who also are Black, caught up with Nichols and beat him about a block from his home, as he called out for his mother.
Video shows the officers milling about and talking as Nichols struggles with his injuries. Nichols died Jan. 10, 2023, three days after the beating.
An autopsy report shows Nichols — the father of a boy who is now 7 — died from blows to the head. The report describes brain injuries, and cuts and bruises on his head and elsewhere on his body.
The five officers also have been charged with second-degree murder in state court, where they pleaded not guilty, although Mills and Martin are expected to change their pleas. A trial date in state court has not been set.
___
Associated Press reporter Jonathan Mattise contributed from Nashville, Tennessee.
veryGood! (52137)
Related
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- Former Child Star Adam Rich’s Cause of Death Revealed
- Businessman Who Almost Went on OceanGate Titanic Dive Reveals Alleged Texts With CEO on Safety Concerns
- The West Sizzled in a November Heat Wave and Snow Drought
- Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
- Killings of Environmental Advocates Around the World Hit a Record High in 2020
- Two Areas in Rural Arizona Might Finally Gain Protection of Their Groundwater This Year
- Super PAC supporting DeSantis targets Trump in Iowa with ad using AI-generated Trump voice
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- For the first time in 2 years, pay is growing faster than prices
Ranking
- The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
- Ashton Kutcher’s Rare Tribute to Wife Mila Kunis Will Color You Happy
- Finding Bright Spots in the Global Coral Reef Catastrophe
- Nordstrom says it will close its Canadian stores and cut 2,500 jobs
- Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
- California Attorney General Investigates the Oil and Gas Industry’s Role in Plastic Pollution, Subpoenas Exxon
- We found the 'missing workers'
- Democrats urge Republicans to rescind RFK Jr. invitation to testify
Recommendation
Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
Inside Pregnant Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker's Blended Family
This Amazon Cleansing Balm With 10,800+ 5-Star Reviews Melts Away Makeup, Dirt & More Instantly
See Pregnant Kourtney Kardashian Bare Her Baby Bump in Bikini Photo
McKinsey to pay $650 million after advising opioid maker on how to 'turbocharge' sales
While The Fate Of The CFPB Is In Limbo, The Agency Is Cracking Down On Junk Fees
Warming Trends: Climate Threats to Bears, Bugs and Bees, Plus a Giant Kite and an ER Surge
Inside Clean Energy: What Lauren Boebert Gets Wrong About Pueblo and Paris