Tyre Nichols posed no threat to police when he was snatched out of his car during a traffic stop that preceded a fatal beating by five Memphis officers, according to testimony Monday by a former officer who has pleaded guilty in the case, which led to national protests and sparked renewed calls for police reform.
Emmitt Martin III took the stand in the federal trial of former colleagues Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith. The three officers 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 fellow officer Desmond Mills Jr., were fired after the January 2023 death of Nichols. The beating was caught on police video, which was released to the public. The officers were later indicted by a federal grand jury. Martin and Mills have taken plea deals and are testifying against the other officers.
For the first time in the trial, jurors heard from one of the officers who beat Nichols. Martin said he and his former colleagues - members of the Scorpion Unit, a Memphis police team that looked for drugs, illegal guns and violent criminals - would justify the force they used against a person by exaggerating the person's actions against them. The unit was disbanded shortly after Nichols' death.
Martin said he saw Nichols speed up to beat a red light and then change lanes without signaling, leading Martin to follow Nichols with his police car lights on. Haley eventually stopped Nichols' Nissan, pulled out his gun and snatched Nichols from his vehicle without telling Nichols why he was stopped.
