One of the four former Memphis police officers scheduled to go to federal trial next month for violating Tyre Nichols’ civil rights intends to change his original not-guilty plea.
Emmitt Martin III will appear before a judge for a plea hearing Friday afternoon, according to a court document posted Thursday. More information about the reversal is expected then.
One of Martin’s former colleagues, Desmond Mills Jr., previously pleaded guilty to two federal counts last year in exchange for his possible testimony at trial and a recommended sentence of 15 years in prison.
As part of the same deal, Mills also intends to plead guilty in state court, where the officers face separate charges of second degree murder.
A total of five former officers were fired and criminally charged after they were captured on body camera and other surveillance footage brutally beating Nichols in January of last year after Nichols fled an alleged traffic stop. He died in the hospital three days later.
An autopsy found that he died from blunt force trauma to the head. Videos showed the officers restraining, hitting and punching Nichols before taking him into custody.
Federal charges against the officers stem from their alleged use of excessive force and efforts to mislead or lie to superiors about the events surrounding Nichols’ arrest and medical needs.
The special crime-fighting unit that the officers were a part of was dissolved in the aftermath of the Nichols' death.
Up until this recent change of plea, Martin’s attorneys appeared to be preparing for the Sept. 9 federal trial.
They most recently appeared last week in front of a judge for a pretrial hearing and have been filing court documents.
Three fellow defendants—Justin Smith, Demetrius Haley, and Tadarrius Bean—maintain their innocence in the case.
This post has been updated.
