Current:Home > StocksEx-officer says he went along with ‘cover-up’ of fatal beating hoping Tyre Nichols would survive -WealthConverge Strategies
Ex-officer says he went along with ‘cover-up’ of fatal beating hoping Tyre Nichols would survive
View
Date:2025-04-19 15:44:09
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A former Memphis police officer testified under a plea deal Wednesday that he helped cover up the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols because he wanted to protect his job, and was hoping Nichols would survive and the scrutiny of the officers would simply “blow over.”
Desmond Mills returned to the stand for a second day in the trial of three former colleagues, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith, who are charged in the fatal beating. Mills and another former officer, Emmitt Martin, have testified for prosecutors after pleading guilty.
In his testimony Wednesday, Mills said he was “going along with the cover-up ... hoping for the best” and hoping that Nichols would survive and “this whole thing would blow over.” Mills said he told his supervisor that the Nichols arrest was handled “by the book.”
Nichols died in the hospital on Jan. 10, 2023, three days after the beating.
“I had a lot at stake. I needed this job for my family,” Mills said.
Mills noted during his November guilty plea hearing that he has three young children. On Wednesday, he said he was thinking about his wife and kids in the aftermath of the beating. His testimony came a day after he said through tears that he was sorry about the beating of Nichols, saying, “I made his child fatherless.” Nichols’ son is now 7 years old.
The officers used pepper spray and a Taser on Nichols, who was Black, during a traffic stop, but the 29-year-old ran away, police video shows. The five officers, who also are Black, then punched, kicked and hit him about a block from his home, as he called out for his mother.
Mills said the officers had a “non-verbal, mutual agreement” to not disclose the punches and kicks delivered to Nichols in required written forms known as response to resistance reports. He said they also lied about Nichols driving into oncoming traffic and “aggressively resisting” officers “to make us look better.”
In his report, Mills did include his own actions: He pepper sprayed Nichols and hit him with a baton.
Mills said he and his fellow officers failed to render aid and he did not tell doctors who treated Nichols about the use of force officers had used.
Under cross-examination by Bean’s lawyer, Mills acknowledged that he did not jump in to help Bean and Smith put handcuffs on Nichols or stop Martin from punching him.
Mills and Martin have acknowledged lying to internal police investigators about their actions and Nichols’ behavior.
John Keith Perry, Bean’s attorney, followed a line of questioning used by defense attorneys when they questioned Martin, asking whether Department of Justice prosecutors helped them with their testimony during pre-trial meetings.
Perry asked Mills if he believed that prosecutors would seek a reduced sentence if he “did what the government told you to do.”
“Yes,” Mills said.
An autopsy report shows Nichols died from blows to the head. The report describes brain injuries, and cuts and bruises on his head and elsewhere on his body.
Haley, Bean and Smith pleaded not guilty to federal charges of excessive force, failure to intervene, and obstructing justice through witness tampering.
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.
___
Associated Press reporter Jonathan Mattise contributed from Nashville, Tennessee.
veryGood! (7476)
Related
- Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
- Can I use my 401(k) as an ATM? New rules allow emergency withdrawals.
- Road rage fight in Los Angeles area leaves 1 man dead; witness says he was 'cold-cocked'
- Gypsy Rose Blanchard reveals sex of baby: 'The moment y’all have been waiting for'
- Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
- UNC women's soccer coach Anson Dorrance, who won 21 NCAA titles, retires
- Patriots fan Matt Damon loved Gronk's 'showstopping' 'Instigators' cameo
- Blink Fitness, an affordable gym operator owned by Equinox, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
- The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
- Britney Spears and Megan Fox are not alone: Shoplifting is more common than you think
Ranking
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- King Charles III applauds people who stood against racism during recent unrest in the UK
- Latinos are excited about Harris, but she has work to do to win the crucial voting bloc, experts say
- Travis Scott released with no charges after arrest at Paris hotel, reps say
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- Stripping Jordan Chiles of Olympic bronze medal shows IOC’s cruelty toward athletes, again
- Who won at the box office this weekend? The Reynolds-Lively household
- Debby’s aftermath leaves thousands in the dark; threatens more flooding in the Carolinas
Recommendation
Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
Olympic medal count today: What is the medal count at 2024 Paris Games on Sunday?
Maine can now order employers to pay workers damages for missed wages
Snoop Dogg Drops It Like It's Hot at Olympics Closing Ceremony
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
Elle King says dad Rob Schneider sent her to 'fat camp,' forgot birthday
Social Security's 2025 COLA will be announced in less than 2 months. Expect bad news
A'ja Wilson had NSFW answer to describe Kahleah Copper's performance in gold medal game