One of the former Memphis Police Department (MPD) officers indicted in the January beating death of Tyre Nichols agreed to plead guilty in state court, according to Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy.
Desmond Mills is one of five former officers charged in Nichols’ death. He pled guilty to the charges Thursday morning after pleading not guilty in September.
“As part of the global settlement reached between Mills, the DA’s office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mills agreed to plead guilty to federal charges of excessive force and obstruction of justice, as well as related state charges related to Nichols’ death,” reads a statement from Mulroy’s office. “He also agreed to cooperate fully and truthfully with both the state and federal investigations, including civil rights investigations by the U.S. Justice Department.”
With this, state and federal prosecutors have recommended a 15-year sentence for Desmond. Though, the final decision will be made by U.S. District Judge Mark Norris. Any time Desmond serves will be in a federal prison.
Mulroy said his office consulted with Nichols’ family, “who support the above 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,” said Mulroy. “His cooperation will help us bring to justice all those criminally responsible while also identifying needs for systemic reform within the police department.”
Attorneys for the Nichols family, Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, released a statement Thursday morning.
“Desmond Mills’ plea today is entirely consistent with our allegations in the civil lawsuit against the city of Memphis,” the said in a statement. “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.”
