A federal jury heard testimony on Tuesday from one of the five former Memphis police officers involved in the fatal arrest of Tyre Nichols.
As the civil rights trial of three of their former team members continues, Desmond Mills and his former colleague, Emmit Martin, have both now admitted on the stand to using excessive force as officers violently took Nichols’ into custody after a traffic stop in January of last year.
They have both pleaded guilty to two federal charges.
Mills testified that he struck Nichols three times in the arm with his duty baton, which he said was excessive and unnecessary. Mills commanded Nichols to surrender his hands as he struck him but said he did not give the 29-year-old a chance to comply.
He also said he did not stop fellow officers from kicking and punching Nichols as they attempted to handcuff him.
“I wish I could have stopped the punches,” Mills said after he grew emotional and began crying as prosecutors questioned him and played video footage from the scene.
“It hurt to watch,” he said.
Nichols died in the hospital three days after the incident, which was largely captured on body-worn camera and surveillance footage.
Mills apologized for leaving Nichols’ young son without a father.
When asked why he didn’t stop fellow officers, Mills replied that it looked “bad” and he didn’t want to be “part of it.” He said he failed to assess and analyze the situation before acting.
Mills and Martin served on the Memphis Police Department’s now disbanded crime suppression team called the SCORPION unit alongside the three ex officers currently on trial—Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean.
Federal charges against them include violating Nichols’ civil rights by using excessive force and failing to alert responding medical workers about his injuries, which prosecutors argue could have helped save him.
They’re also accused of misleading their superiors about their actions.
Martin testified last week that he “exaggerated” the reasons for pulling Nichols over in the first place. He later kicked and punched Nichols, Martin said, because he was mad he ran from the traffic stop after officers used pepper spray on him. The chemical irritant also struck the officers, further angering Martin.
There was an understanding among officers, Martin said, that they could use extra force against suspects that fled them, which was known as a so-called “run” or “street” tax.
Mills also acknowledged the term under questioning from prosecutors but said he only heard Martin and Haley talk about it.
At the time of Nichols’ arrest, Martin had recently returned from a desk duty assignment as he recovered from being struck by a vehicle while on duty at the end of 2022.
As a result of the accident, he went to see a therapist about lingering feelings of anger, including what’s been referred to in court as homicidal thoughts. The disclosure of his mental health struggles has led defense attorneys to ask questions about whether Martin was mentally fit to return to his field duties.
Mills said at the time of Nichols’ arrest he had grown to strongly dislike what he described as the SCORPION unit’s “go, go, go” mentality. He also was critical of the addition of what he called “inexperienced” officers.
Launched in late 2021, the SCORPION team, which stands for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in our Neighborhoods, was dispatched to areas with high rates of crime in Memphis. They were tasked with bringing in suspects with outstanding warrants and targeting illegal drugs and guns.
Both Martin and Mills have acknowledged that they hope a judge will factor their cooperation with prosecutors into their eventual sentences. Prosecutors have recommended Mills serve no more than 15 years in prison and Martin no more than 40.
Defense attorneys could have the opportunity to cross-examine Mills Wednesday.
In their previous questioning of Martin, they sought to undermine his credibility by highlighting for jurors discrepancies between initial statements given to authorities and testimony only offered after speaking with prosecutors.
