MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Emmitt Martin III, a former officer who pleaded guilty in the beating death of Tyre Nichols, is asking for a delay in his sentencing hearing.
In the motion filed Wednesday, Martin's defense team said they needed additional time to prepare for the hearing.
The sentencing hearing is currently set for Dec. 5, 2024. A continuance of 90 days has been requested.
Martin pleaded guilty in August 2024 to federal charges of using excessive force and failing to intervene in the unlawful assault, and also conspiring to cover up his use of unlawful force. Prosecutors have recommended Martin be sentenced to 40 years in prison for his part in Nichols' killing. Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy expects Martin to change his plea on the state charges.
He testified against three other former officers accused in the deadly beating during a federal trial in September.
Desmond Mills Jr., also pleaded guilty in early November 2023 to federal charges of excessive force and obstruction of justice. Mulroy previously said Mills also reached a deal with the state to plead guilty to charges of second-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, and official misconduct. A 15-year sentencing recommendation for Mills covers both the federal and state cases.
In a federal trial regarding the beating death of Tyre Nichols that ended in early October, Tadarrius Bean, Justin Smith and Demetrius Haley were all found guilty of obstruction. Bean and Smith were acquitted of civil rights charges for three other counts.
Haley was acquitted of violating Nichols’ civil rights causing death, but was found guilty on lesser charges of bodily injury and deprivation of rights resulting in bodily injury for counts one and two. He was found guilty on counts three and four: conspiracy to commit obstruction and obstruction.
A jury trial for the $550 million lawsuit filed by Nichols’ family against the City of Memphis is set for March 2025. Following the verdict in the federal trial, attorney Ben Crump, who represents the Nichols' family, said they “plan to go full speed ahead” on civil suit.
Nichols was beaten Jan. 7, 2023, after a traffic stop that was caught on video, and he died three days later. Nichols died of blows to his head, and the manner of death was homicide, an autopsy report released May 4 showed.
The five officers, all of whom are Black, were fired shortly after the beating. Two other MPD officers were also fired, along with three Memphis Fire Department emergency medical technicians who were fired for failing to render aid to Nichols as he struggled with his injuries. All were named as defendants in the civil lawsuit by Nichols’ family against the City of Memphis.
The five former officers who were charged were also part of the so-called SCORPION unit, a crime-suppression team police officials disbanded after Nichols' beating.
The lawsuit filed by Nichols' mother blames the former Memphis Police officers for his death and accuses MPD Chief Cerelyn "CJ" Davis of "turning a blind eye" to the department’s SCORPION unit's "aggressive style of policing" even before Nichols' assault.
In July 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it was launching a civil rights "pattern or practice" investigation into the Memphis Police Department and the City of Memphis.
