MEMPHIS, Tenn. – 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, and Martin 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.
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“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 after Nichols' death. The beating was caught on police video, which was released publicly. The officers were later indicted on the federal charges. Martin and Mills have taken plea deals and are testifying against their former colleagues.
The five officers were part of the Scorpion Unit, a team of officers tasked with finding drugs, illegal guns and violent criminals. The unit was disbanded after Nichols' death.
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, 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 out of anger.
“No ma’am,” he said, adding that he should have intervened.
Martin said he threw his body camera on the ground because he didn't want to show "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 commanding him 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 Lt. Smith that Nichols was high, without evidence, and that officers lied about Nichols driving into oncoming traffic and swinging at them during the traffic stop.
Martin testified that while he felt pressure on his gun belt at the traffic stop, he never saw Nichols' 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.
Martin acknowledged his plea deal and he said he hoped the judge would show leniency at sentencing.
“I can’t sit here and live with a lie. The truth needs to come out,” Martin told Gilbert. “It was eating me up inside.”
Under cross examination by Bean’s lawyer, John Keith Perry, Martin said he had been injured in November 2022 when he was hit by a car, and he had only returned to the Scorpion Unit four days before the Nichols arrest. While Martin was away from his team, Justin Smith called and Martin told him he was having homicidal thoughts, Martin said.
Martin also said he had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, with problems including trouble sleeping, paranoia, irritability and anger issues.
Perry tried to show inconsistencies between Martin’s previous statements to investigators and his court testimony.
He pressed Martin about his wording in court, such as “exaggerate” and “passive resistance,” suggesting Martin only used that language after lawyers guided him on his testimony. Martin acknowledged he did not use those words when speaking with internal affairs investigators in the days after the beating, adding that he was not being truthful at that time.
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, then 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 struggled 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. Mills and Martin are expected to change their pleas. A trial date in state court has not been set.
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Associated Press reporter Jonathan Mattise contributed from Nashville, Tennessee.