Former Memphis police officer Emmitt Martin III pleaded guilty on Friday to three counts of US federal civil rights and conspiracy charges. An indictment issued in September of last year accused Martin of using excessive force against Tyre Nichols, an unarmed 29-year-old black man.

On January 7, 2023, police stopped Nichols while in his vehicle for reckless driving. Four officers approached the vehicle and told Nichols to step out. According to the indictment, Martin and the other officers used unreasonable force to restrain Nichols through repeated blows to the head and neck. Nichols sustained major bodily injuries but did not receive medical attention; he later died.

Federal law prohibits the use of excessive force by police when the “deprivation of rights, privileges, and immunities enjoyed by the Constitution” can be proven by the victim. Through various statutory provisions, Congress has sought to prevent discriminatory methods in law enforcement. According to a press release, the US Attorneys and the Department of Justice (DOJ) initially brought the case “to hold law enforcement officers accountable for misconduct because no one is above the law in our country.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland praised the Department’s commitment to upholding civil rights:

The country watched in horror as Tyre Nichols was kicked, punched, tased, and pepper sprayed, and we all heard Mr. Nichols cry out for his mother […] Officers who violate the civil rights of those they are sworn to protect undermine public safety, which depends on the community’s trust in law enforcement. They dishonor their fellow officers who do their work with integrity every day. The Justice Department will continue to hold accountable officers who betray their oath.

Several members of the Nichols family have since sued the Memphis Police Department alleging “negligent infliction of emotional distress” and “fraudulent misrepresentation.” Their case remains pending in the US District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.