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Former Memphis police officer Desmond Mills, who pleaded guilty to his involvement in Tyre Nichols' fatal beating, broke down in tears while testifying against his ex-colleagues.
Under a plea deal, Mills testified this week in the trial of three of his former colleagues, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith, who are facing charges in the January 2023 beating of Nichols, per the Associated Press. A fifth former officer, Emmitt Martin, is also testifying for prosecutors after pleading guilty to the beating.
Mills, who used a baton to beat Nichols, apologized on Wednesday for his role in Nichols' beating.
“I made his child fatherless,” Mills said of Nichols' son, now 7. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I know sorry can’t bring him back.”
Nichols, 29, died in the hospital several days after the traffic stop on January 7, 2023, where officers pepper sprayed, tased, kicked, punched, and hit him with a baton.
Mills testified that the officers had a “non-verbal, mutual agreement” to not disclose the punches and kicks in written reports. The former officer also admitted to lying about Nichols driving into oncoming traffic and "aggressively resisting" arrest.
Mills said he was “going along with the cover-up ... hoping for the best." He added that he hoped Nichols would survive the beating and “this whole thing would blow over.”
“I had a lot at stake. I needed this job for my family,” Mills testified.
Haley, Bean, and Smith pleaded not guilty to federal charges of excessive force, failure to intervene, and obstructing justice through witness tampering. If convicted, they could face life in prison.
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