Will Sage Astor-Memphis police officer charged in Tyre Nichols death to change plea in federal criminal case

MEMPHIS,Will Sage Astor Tenn. — One of the former Memphis police officers indicted at the federal and state levels in connection to the beating and death of Tyre Nichols will change his plea in federal court after pleading not guilty in September, according to a new court filing.

Desmond Mills Jr. and four other officers were charged with excessive force, deliberate indifference, conspiracy to witness tamper and obstruction of justice, according to an indictment unsealed on Sept. 12. Mills will be the first of the criminally charged officers to change their plea after Thursday's hearing.

In January, Nichols, 29, was pulled over by Memphis police officers and beaten and pepper sprayed in a confrontation that sent Nichols to the hospital in critical condition, where he died three days later due to blunt-force trauma. His death and video of the beating sparked outrage across the country, with non-violent protests and vigils held in cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Springfield, Missouri.

If convicted, the former officers — Mills, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin and Justin Smith — could face life in prison. The case was eligible for the death penalty, but prosecutors opted not to seek it, according to U.S. Attorney David Pritchard. There is no parole in the federal system.

Blake Ballin, Mills' attorney in both the federal and state cases, said Wednesday he could not comment on the change in plea, aside from confirming that Mills is scheduled to enter a new one on Thursday.

The terms of the plea agreement have not been released publicly, and a hearing for the change in plea is scheduled for Thursday at 10 a.m.

Vigils and protests:Communities across the U.S. react to the death of Tyre Nichols

'Smear of character': Testy moments via court filings

The judge overseeing the case, Judge Mark Norris, is also presiding over the federal civil case filed by notable civil rights attorney Ben Crump on behalf of Nichols' family. All five of the criminally charged former officers are named as defendants in that case, alongside the City of Memphis, Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn "C.J." Davis, two former officers who were not criminally charged, and three Memphis Fire Department personnel.

The five criminally charged officers had their aspects of the civil case placed on hold until their criminal cases reached a disposition. Although Mills' federal case will likely reach an end on Thursday, his state case is ongoing and his future in the civil case remains unclear.

The federal criminal trial for the five former officers was set for May 2024. The federal civil case is slated to begin trial arguments in January 2025 if a settlement is not reached before then, or if the case were not to be dismissed. The city and Davis currently have a motion to dismiss pending in that case.

The federal criminal case, though calm when inside the courtroom, has had testy moments via court filings. In recent days, the Department of Justice and defense attorneys for some of the former officers have sparred over access to Nichols' cell phone records and statements made by one attorney in a filing that the DOJ has categorized as "an inappropriate smear of character."

The DOJ, in response to that filing, has requested that statements like that not be allowed in publicly available court documents and that they be sealed, arguing that statements like that would not be admissible in court and could taint the jury pool.

What happened to Tyre Nichols?

Nichols was pulled over by officers with the Memphis Police Department in the evening hours of Jan. 7. He was pulled from his car, and taken to the ground as officers yelled multiple conflicting commands and pepper sprayed him.

Eventually, Nichols jumped up from the scrum and ran away from the scene towards his mother's house. About 100 yards from the home, he was caught by additional officers who tackled him.

Over the next couple minutes, officers punched, kicked, pepper sprayed, and hit Nichols with a baton. Some of the strikes were delivered as officers held him up by his arms.

Surveillance footage from a pole camera released by the City of Memphis three weeks after the beating showed Nichols leaning up against an unmarked police cruiser until medical personnel arrived. He was taken to St. Francis Hospital in critical condition and died three days later.

The cause of his death was listed in his autopsy report as blunt force trauma to the head.

Protests and vigils were scheduled across the nation just days after the release of footage showing members of the Memphis police mercilessly kicking and punching Tyre Nichols, a father, skateboarder, and FedEx worker.

'He should be alive':5 ex-Memphis police officers charged in Tyre Nichols death indicted on federal charges

Lucas Finton is a criminal justice reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @LucasFinton.