Desmond Mills initially plead guilty to federal charges in September.
MEMPHIS, Tenn — A former officer who was charged with the death of Tyre Nichols, Desmond Mills, will plead guilty to the murder charge after accepting a federal plea deal, and will serve 15 years in prison, according to the Shelby County D.A.’s office.
The D.A.’s Office said Mills will plead guilty to all charges brought against him by D.A. Steve Mulroy, including second degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and official misconduct.
As part of the deal with federal and state prosecutors, the D.A.’s Office recommended he serve 15 years in prison, with a final decision to be made by a judge in a sentencing hearing.
The federal charges against Mills concern his excessive use of force when he and four other charged officers beat Tyre Nichols on January 7, 2023, and refused to give him medical aid. He is also accused of lying to his supervisors about the beating.
The other four former Memphis Police officers charged with second-degree murder in connection with Nichols’ death are Emmitt Martin III, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean.
They have pleaded not guilty to criminal charges including second-degree murder in the Jan. 7 beating of Nichols after a traffic stop that was caught on video— and his death three days later. Nichols died of blows to his head, and the manner of death was homicide, an autopsy report released May 4 showed.
Three Memphis Fire Department emergency medical technicians who were fired for failing to render aid to Nichols as he struggled with his injuries also are defendants in a civil lawsuit against the City of Memphis by the family of Tyre Nichols.
In July, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it’s launching a civil rights “pattern or practice” investigation into the Memphis Police Department and the City of Memphis.
Attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, representing the family of Tyre Nichols in their civil lawsuit, released this statement in response to the plea deal:
“Desmond Mills’ plea today is 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.
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.
Mills was not an individual actor, and as our civil suit continues to unfold, that will become even more apparent.”
