Federal prosecutors agreed to recommend a prison sentence of no more than 40 years for a former Memphis police officer who pleaded guilty Friday to federal civil rights violations in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols. Emmitt Martin is the second former officer to plead guilty in the killing that sparked outrage and renewed calls for police reform. He entered his change of plea before U.S. District Judge Mark Norris in Memphis, pleading guilty to excessive force and witness tampering charges. Sentencing is set for Dec. 5. Three former officers -- Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith -- still face trial in federal court next month. Martin, along with Desmond Mills Jr., another officer who pleaded guilty in November, could testify against them, the Associated Press reports.
“Tyre was just coming home. He was just minding his own business,” said his mother, RowVaughn Wells, who appeared at a news conference with civil rights attorney Ben Crump after the hearing. Police video released last January showed officers beating Nichols as he yelled for his mother about a block away from the home they shared; later, an autopsy report showed Nichols died from blows to the head, and that the manner of death was homicide. In November, former Memphis officer Desmond Mills Jr., reached a similar deal with federal prosecutors and changed his plea to guilty. Prosecutors agreed to recommend a prison sentence not to exceed 15 years for Mills.
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