Second Former Memphis Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Federal Civil Rights and Conspiracy Charges Tied to Death of Tyre Nichols

Memphis, TN – A former Memphis, Tennessee, Police Department (MPD) officer facing federal civil rights charges for the tragic killing of Tyre Nichols pleaded guilty in federal court today.

Emmitt Martin III, pleaded guilty to civil rights and conspiracy charges arising out of the Jan. 7, 2023, incident. Martin is the second MPD officer to plead guilty in this case.

On Sept. 12, 2023, a federal jury returned a four-count indictment against Martin and four co-defendants. The charges included using excessive force resulting in the death of Nichols; aiding and abetting each other in using that excessive force; failing to intervene to stop the excessive force; failing to render medical aid; and conspiring or taking action to cover up their misconduct. On Nov. 2, 2023, co-defendant Desmond Mills entered a guilty plea to civil rights and conspiracy charges.

The remaining three defendants will face a federal trial scheduled for Sept. 9.

In today’s court appearance, Martin pleaded guilty to counts one and three of the indictment. Count one charged Martin with using excessive force and failing to intervene in the unlawful assault. Count three charged Martin with conspiring to cover up his use of unlawful force by omitting material information and by providing false and misleading information to his supervisor and to others. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 5. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Kevin Ritz for the Western District of Tennessee, and Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Carrico of the FBI Memphis Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Memphis Field Office investigated this case. 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Pritchard and Elizabeth Rogers for the Western District of Tennessee and Special Litigation Counsel Kathryn E. Gilbert, Trial Attorney Andrew Manns and Deputy Chief Forrest Christian of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.

For more about Tyre Nichols click here.

Editor’s note:

The news comes so fast these days and in disparate places that we don’t connect the dots. In other words, the news comes very fast. I like the term “slow news.” Slow news follows up on the original story of the event to describe what happened after the event. Slow news tries to answer the questions, “so what happened next,” and “how did things turn out?” Slow news also describes the “back story” and why things are the way they are. Slow news provides context to events so people can connect the dots.

I used to publish articles I labeled “slow news” on MarkhamsSlowNews on blogger. I moved my new slow news articles to substack on 04/13/2023. You can find the older articles still on the blogger site if you are interested.