Ex-officer says he regrets his failure to stop the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols

MEMPHIS Tenn AP Former Memphis police officer Desmond Mills Jr testified Tuesday that he regrets his failure to stop the beating of Tyre Nichols after Nichols ran away from a traffic stop in Mills testimony came in the second day of the trial of Tadarrius Bean Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith who have pleaded not guilty to state charges including second-degree murder in the death of Nichols a -year-old Black man who was beaten as he cried out for his mother just strategies from his home The three defendants already face the prospect of years behind bars after they were convicted of federal charges last year Footage of the beating was captured by a police pole camera and also manifested the officers milling about talking and giggling as Nichols struggled Nichols death led to national protests raised the volume on calls for police reforms in the U S and directed intense scrutiny toward the police force in Memphis a majority-Black city Mills pleaded guilty to federal charges last year and has entered into an agreement to plead guilty to state charges as well Mills says he hit Nichols out of anger after pepper-spraying himself During his testimony Tuesday Mills noted he and Bean responded to a Jan police radio call that a man had run away from a traffic stop after he was pepper-sprayed and hit with a Taser Nichols saw the two officers and ran away from them and Bean eventually caught Nichols after a foot chase Mills testified When Mills arrived at Nichols location Nichols was struggling with Bean and Smith who were holding Nichols on the ground Mills revealed Mills then tried to pepper-spray Nichols but he ended up spraying himself which made him angry Mills commented After stepping away to try to recover Mills then walked up to Nichols and hit him three times in the arm with a police baton as Bean and Smith were holding Nichols Mills announced Mills notified prosecutor Paul Hagerman that he hit Nichols with the baton because he was angry Another officer Emmitt Martin arrived and punched and kicked Nichols in the head Nichols died three days after the beating Mills acknowledged on the stand that he had a duty to intervene to stop it but didn t Do you regret that the prosecutor announced Yes Mills disclosed Mills also acknowledged that he did not tell paramedics that Nichols had been repeatedly hit in the head and later failed to give police supervisors details of the beating because he didn t want to get in trouble Under the plea agreements Mills state sentence will be the same length as his federal term which could reach up to life in prison though federal prosecutors have recommended a -year sentence He would serve the state sentence at the same time as his federal term in prison In opening statements Monday prosecutor Paul Hagerman stated Nichols was being held by his arms by two of the officers as he was punched and kicked and hit with a police baton Hagerman revealed the officers helped each other beat Nichols to death An autopsy established Nichols died three days after the beating of blunt force trauma He noted the officers had a duty to stop the beating but none of them did so They were overcome by the moment the prosecutor declared Defense attorney says Nichols was resisting arrest the whole time In his opening announcement Bean s attorney commented the situation became high menace when Nichols continued driving for about miles km after one of the officers turned on his van s blue lights in an attempt to stop Nichols for speeding Nichols then failed to follow orders to give officers his hands so that he could be handcuffed Perry declared He was authentically resisting arrest the whole time Perry announced adding that the officers just demanded to do their job effectively Both Smith and Haley called for biological aid the night of the beating their lawyers commented The jury for the state trial was chosen in Hamilton County which includes Chattanooga after Judge James Jones Jr ordered the circumstance be heard from people outside of Shelby County which includes Memphis Defense lawyers for the officers had argued that intense publicity made seating a fair jury laborious The officers are charged with second-degree murder aggravated assault aggravated kidnapping official misconduct and official oppression Mills and Martin were also charged but will not stand trial with their former colleagues due to their agreements to testify Sentencings for all five officers in the federal affair is expected after the state trial The five officers were part of a crime suppression unit called the Scorpion Unit that has since been disbanded The company targeted drugs illegal guns and violent offenders with the goal of amassing arrests while sometimes using force against unarmed people In December the U S Justice Department mentioned a -month study exhibited the Memphis Police Department uses excessive force and discriminates against Black people Source