Ex-Memphis officer accused in Tyre Nichols death takes plea deal, will testify in state trial

One of the five now-former Memphis police officers charged with Tyre Nichols' death has accepted a plea deal in both state and federal criminal cases.

Desmond Mills Jr. was federally charged with excessive force, deliberate indifference, conspiracy to witness tamper and obstruction of justice in early September. On the state level, the five men were charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, official oppression, two counts of aggravated kidnapping and two counts of official misconduct in late January.

Mills pleaded guilty to excessive force and conspiracy to witness tamper in federal court. In state court, he pleaded guilty to the slew of charges related to Nichols' death.

According to Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy's office, both state and federal prosecutors are recommending a sentence of 15 years, to be served concurrently in the federal prison system. But the judge in the case has sentencing discretion and could sentence Mills to life in prison plus 20 years.

The deal comes just under two months after Desmond Mills Jr. was indicted in federal court, and just under ten months since he was indicted at the state level.

Federal prosecutors said that they may call on Mills for information but did not explicitly say that they would call him as a witness in the future trial against the four other former Memphis officers who have been federally charged. Mills will testify in the state criminal case, the DA's office said.

The four other former Memphis police officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin and Justin Smith — were indicted alongside Mills, and face identical charges at both the state and federal level.

Attorneys, Nichols family say plea deal will help bring justice

Thursday morning, notable civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Nichols' family in a civil lawsuit, said the pleas were "entirely consistent with our allegations in the civil lawsuit against the City of Memphis."

"We stand strong in our belief that these officers, including Mills, acted at the direction of a policy that not only violated civil rights of innocent civilians but which caused needless pain to many," Crump said in an email.

"The MPD and its SCORPION unit directed, trained, and encouraged officers like Mills to commit baseless and horrific acts of violence against innocent individuals like Tyre Nichols. We vigorously restate our assertion that those policies were behind what ultimately caused Mills and four other Scorpion officers to kill Tyre Nichols."

Crump added that Mills didn't act alone and the civil lawsuit would show that.

Mulroy's office said Nichols' family supported the plea agreement.

“I join Tyre’s family in saying this is a fair result, given Mr. Mills’ level of involvement, and his willingness to cooperate with us,” Mulroy said in a statement.  “His cooperation will help us bring to justice all those criminally responsible while also identifying needs for systemic reform within the police department.”

The U.S. Department of Justice declined to pursue the death penalty in the federal lawsuit. If the other four officers are convicted, the federal cases carry life sentences.

The federal trial is slated to begin in May 2024. It was not immediately clear if that timeline would change following Mills' plea.

Officers accused of beating, killing Nichols in January

Indictments at the state level came three weeks after Nichols was initially pulled over by the Memphis Police Department on Jan. 7.

He was pulled over in the evening hours that day and pulled from his car by officers who then forced him to the ground, shouting multiple conflicting commands as they held him down.

After moments of being held down and pepper sprayed, Nichols jumped up from under the officers and began running towards his mother's house. He was caught, and tackled, by other officers about 100 yards from the home.

Over the following minutes, officers punched, kicked, pepper sprayed and hit Nichols with a baton. At some points, he was held up by his arms while being hit. The officers eventually leaned him against an unmarked police cruiser until medical personnel arrived.

He was taken to Saint Francis Hospital in critical condition and died three days later. The cause of Nichols' death has been listed as blunt force trauma to the head.

Months after his death, Crump filed a $550 million civil lawsuit against the City of Memphis, MPD Chief Cerelyn "C.J." Davis, the five criminally charged officers, two additional MPD officers and three Memphis Fire Department personnel.

Additionally, the DOJ opened a civil rights investigation in July of the city and Memphis Police Department after Nichols' death.

The city and Davis have filed a motion to dismiss the civil suit, saying the five criminally charged officers were "rogue" and should be the only ones held responsible. If the case is not dismissed, and a settlement is not reached, that civil suit is slated to go to trial in January 2025.

Micaela Watts and Lucas Finton are reporters for The Memphis Commercial Appeal, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach Watts at micaela.watts@commercialappeal.com and Finton Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @LucasFinton.