2023-11-02 21:48:00
On January 7, 2023, Tire Nichols, a young African-American man aged 29, was beaten by several police officers in Memphis (United States), before dying from his injuries three days later. Five police officers have since been charged federally. One of them pleaded guilty this Thursday, November 2, announced the US Department of Justice. The affair which aroused strong national emotion, forcing the White House to react, had raised fears of a conflagration after the broadcast of videos of the arrest of Tire Nichols, beaten relentlessly by five police officers, also black.
The five police officers, who were fired, and already indicted by the State of Tennessee, were also charged on September 12 at the federal level by a grand jury, for four counts.
One of them, Desmond Mills, 33, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Memphis. The trial of the four others is scheduled for May 6, 2024, the Ministry of Justice said in a press release.
Up to 15 years in prison
Desmond Mills pleaded guilty to two counts: excessive use of force and attempting to conceal the facts. He faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, the ministry said.
Lawyers for the family of Tire Nichols, who are suing the city of Memphis in a civil suit, said in a statement that Desmond Mills’ testimony confirmed their accusations, assuring that he was “not an individual actor.”
“We remain convinced that these officers, including Mills, acted under a policy that not only violated the civil rights of innocent civilians, but also caused unnecessary suffering to many people,” they said.
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