Fri. Feb 14th, 2025

Ex-MPD officer says they ‘exaggerated’ what Tyre Nichols did before he was beaten

By: Lucas Finton

Former Memphis police officer Emmitt Martin III, who was a co-defendant of the three men on trial for allegedly violating Tyre Nichols’ civil rights when he was beaten by officers with the Memphis Police Department, took the stand Monday afternoon.

During his brief testimony, which will continue Tuesday, Martin said that the SCORPION Unit officers “exaggerated what they did” in order to “justify what we did.” It was not clear if Martin was speaking in general about him and the other former SCORPION Unit officers’ conduct, or if it was explicitly about Nichols.

Martin’s testimony was the first time the events that preceded Nichols being pulled over were talked about by someone who viewed them. Martin was the officer who initially called Nichols’ car in.

According to Martin, he was at a stop light when he saw Nichols speed up to beat a red light. Martin said Nichols got through the intersection “just in time.”

“I got behind him right after my light turned green,” Martin recalled.

He said he ran Nichols’ plates because beating the red light gave him probable cause. Attorney Kathryn Gilbert of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division asked Martin what the result of the license plate search was.

“It was clean,” he replied.

Following Nichols for a while, Martin said the 29-year-old Black man “took off fast” and was changing lanes without a signal. At no point during his testimony did Martin say Nichols committed a felony.

When he caught up to Nichols, he said he turned his lights on but said he was unsure if Nichols could see him since there was other traffic on the road. Martin then called the SCOPRION Unit’s private radio frequency and Demetrius Haley, who is currently on trial, told Martin to “let him take care of it.”

Martin said he did not say what offenses Nichols had committed, but told Haley that Nichols was “getting small on him,” meaning that Nichols was fleeing from Martin. Fleeing in a vehicle would be a felony offense according to Tennessee state law.

When Nichols stopped at the corner of Ross and Raines roads, Martin said he pulled in front of Nichols’ Nissan Sentra. Haley, he recalled, pulled up to the driver’s side.

Haley left his unmarked police vehicle with his gun out, which Martin said spurred him to pull his own gun out. They went up to Nichols’ car and Haley said, “get the f*** out the car,” Martin testified.

Gilbert asked why Haley and Martin surrounded Nichols’ car the way they did. Martin said it was “because of the type of stop it was.”

“What type of stop was it?” Gilbert asked.

“A felony stop,” Martin replied.

“Was it a felony stop?” Gilbert asked again.

“No, it was not,” Martin said, adding that he had “exaggerated” it.

As soon as Haley told Nichols to get out of the car, Martin said Haley “snatched him out the car,” not giving Nichols time to comply.

Earlier in his testimony, Gilbert had asked Martin what was valued on the SCORPION Unit. Martin said that “stats,” like felony arrests along with confiscating guns, drugs and money, were valued most. Martin said he had not made any arrests that night.

“I was angry,” Martin said of not having any arrests when Gilbert asked how he was feeling.

In the months preceding Nichols’ beating, Martin said he was on desk duty because he was hit by a car. He was cleared to return to the field on Jan. 3, 2023, and said he was nervous and “seeing red.”

“I was angry, I wanted some kind of revenge,” Martin said.

Emmitt Martin III, one of the former Memphis Police Department officers charged with the death of Tyre Nichols and who pleaded guilty before trial, walks towards the entrance to the Odell Horton Federal Building with William Massey, one of his attorneys, on the fifth day of the Tyre Nichols federal criminal trial in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday, September 13, 2024.

As Martin said he wanted “revenge” for his time off due to injury, RowVaughn Wells, Nichols’ mother, could be seen in court resting her head on her husband Rodney Wells’ shoulder.

Martin’s testimony also shed a bit more light on the “run tax” that Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Rogers mentioned during her opening statement.

“You get your ass beat,” Martin said when asked what happens when someone runs from officers. He added that he knew of the consequences, but did run taxes anyways.

Martin also provided additional context to the training he received when putting someone in handcuffs. According to Martin, “If one officer had hands on him, we all need to have hands on him.”

In describing Nichols that night, Martin said he was “passive” even as he pulled his hands away from other officers.

“He wasn’t a threat,” Martin said.

Martin said he was about 275 pounds at the time Nichols was beaten, Haley was a similar weight and that former officer Preston Hemphill, who was also at the scene of the initial stop, was “heavy-set.” Hemphill has not been criminally charged in either state or federal court. He was the only white officer to be fired.

“We should’ve analyzed the situation,” Martin said.

As he said that from the witness stand, he let out an audible sigh. It was the first time during his testimony that Martin did not almost immediately respond to Gilbert’s questioning.

Martin was the first of the criminally charged former officers to take the stand in the trial. Martin and Desmond Mills Jr. both entered plea deals ahead of trial. Prosecutors said during those plea hearings that they may be called upon to testify, and Rogers said they both would testify during her opening statement.

The two plea deals leave Tadarrius Bean, Haley and Justin Smith Jr. as the only former officers on trial. They are each charged with violating Tyre Nichols’ civil rights by using excessive force, being deliberately indifferent to his medical needs, witness tampering and conspiring to witness tamper.

The three officers, if convicted, could be sentenced to life in prison. The charges the indictment listed for them carry the death penalty, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office has said that it would not seek it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Connect With Us

Stay Connected Everywhere With Us