A former Memphis, Tennessee, police officer federally charged with civil rights violations in the January beating death of Tyre Nichols will plead guilty in a hearing Thursday, his attorney confirmed.
Desmond Mills Jr. will change his not-guilty plea, attorney Blake Ballin said Wednesday. Ballin did not specify the terms of the plea agreement.
A change-of-plea hearing for Mills is slated for 10 a.m. before Judge Mark S. Norris in the federal building in Memphis, according to Tuesday's court filing.
Tyre Nichols, 29, died three days after a Jan. 7 traffic stop, in which officers are seen on camera kicking, punching and hitting him with a baton.
The five former officers, who are Black like Nichols, have all pleaded not guilty to state charges of second-degree murder.
The former officers, including Mills, were then indicted in September on several federal charges, including deprivation of rights under the color of the law through excessive force and failure to intervene and through deliberate indifference, conspiracy to witness tampering, and obstruction of justice through witness tampering.
They were also fired Jan. 20 after an investigation determined they violated the department’s use-of-force policy.
The other officers are Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin and Justin Smith. They've also pleaded not guilty.
