MEMPHIS, Tennessee — A former Memphis police officer testified Tuesday that he was a “helpless” Band Nichols at least five times, while two coworkers held his arms and said “hit him,” then lied to his supervisor about their use of force in a an assault that proved fatal.
Emmitt Martin III testified that he was at the traffic stop on January 7, 2023, when Nichols was pulled over and pulled from his car. Nichols fled, but Martin has said Tadarrius Bean and Justin Smith gave chase and caught the 29-year-old man without handcuffs when Martin caught up to them.
“They attacked him,” Martin said Tuesday.
Bean, Smith and Demetrius Haley have pleaded not guilty to charges that they deprived Nichols of his civil rights by excessive force and failure to intervene and that they obstructed justice by coercing witnesses.
The four men, along with Desmond Mills Jr., were fired from the police department after Nichols’ death. The beating was captured on police video, which was released to the public. The officers were later indicted by a federal grand jury. Martin and Mills have arrangements made and testify against their former colleagues.
Jurors watched video clips while Nichols’ mother and stepfather, Row Vaughn and Rodney Wells, sat outside the courtroom. Row Vaughn Wells never saw the video. Nichols’ brother watched the video inside.
Martin said he was angry that Nichols had run away from the traffic stop and that the team still hadn’t arrested anyone that night.
“I thought he should get that,” Martin said.
Prosecutor Kathryn Gilbert asked Martin whether officers were allowed to use force because they were angry.
“No, ma’am,” he said, adding that he should have intervened.
Martin said he threw his bodycam on the ground.
“I didn’t want to show what we were doing,” he said. “We were attacking Mr. Nichols.”
Martin said he kicked Nichols, while Mills hit him with a baton. Then Martin said he punched Nichols at least five times while Bean and Smith held his arms and urged Martin to continue. Officers held his arms while also commanding him to give his hands.
“He was helpless,” Martin said of Nichols.
Martin said he did not tell Lt. Dewayne Smith, his supervisor, about their use of force. Martin said he told Smith that Nichols was high, without proof, and that officers lied about Nichols driving on the wrong side of traffic and punching them during the traffic stop.
Martin testified that although he felt pressure on his gun belt at the scene of the traffic stop, he never saw Nichols put his hands on his gun. However, Martin told his supervisor that Nichols had his hands on his gun.
“I exaggerated his actions to justify my own,” Martin said.
He said his colleagues understood that “they would not betray me, and I would not betray them.”
According to Martin, they violated department policy by using force and lying about it.
Nichols, who was black, was pepper-sprayed and struck with a stun gun during the traffic stop, but ran away. police video shows. The five officers, who are also black, grabbed Nichols and beat him about a block from his home as he called out for his mother.
Video footage shows the officers standing around and talking as Nichols struggled with his injuries. Nichols died on January 10, 2023, three days after the assault.
An autopsy report found that Nichols — the father of a boy who is now 7 — died from blows to the head. The report described brain injuries, and cuts and bruises on his head and elsewhere on his body.
The five officers have also been charged with second-degree murder in state court, where they have pleaded not guilty, though Mills and Martin are expected to change their pleas. No trial date has been set for the state court trial.
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Associated Press reporter Jonathan Mattise contributed from Nashville, Tennessee.