WREG will be reporting on Wednesday at 9 a.m. for the next witness.

5:50 p.m.: Desmond Mills’ testimony wrapped up today’s trial after the final defense attorney cross-examined him.

1:54 p.m.: Attorneys begin cross-examination of Desmond Mills.

The crux of Mills’ testimony involved looking at the video of Tyre Nichols’ first traffic stop, and also the second encounter with the officers, where he was punched, kicked and hit with a baton.

Mills admitted he used the baton on Nichols and says he lied about the use of force because he knew it was bad.

He also described the elite Scorpion Unit he was part of, and how they were given praise for being so effective.

“We were sent to areas where there was high, well, a lot of crime. Violent Crimes. They will come from the top. They would send us there. And it’s like a zero tolerance policy. They really want drugs, money, cars and guns,” Mills said.

Defense attorneys honed in on how the officers were trained as far as getting people into handcuffs, and if what they did when trying to get Nichols into handcuffs followed what they were taught.

They also stressed how Mills’ story changed as he reached a deal with prosecutors.

The deal includes a memorandum of understanding he signed with the state admitting his conduct was improper, excessive, and criminal. In exchange for his guilty plea and telling the truth, prosecutors would recommend no more than 15 years in prison.

But it’s the judge’s discretion to sentence him to more or less — life or supervised release.

*****

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — The state trial for the three former Memphis Police officers accused of beating Tyre Nichols to death is heading into its second day.

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith are all facing a second-degree murder charge.

Desmond Mills, a former MPD officer who took plea deals at both the federal and state levels in the case, testified on Tuesday morning.

Mills admitted to pepper-spraying Nichols and accidentally pepper-spraying himself in the process. He says he walked away to “collect” himself, but eventually made his way back to Nichols.

That is when Mills used his baton on Nichols multiple times while Bean and Smith held him. He claims he did so because he “became angry.”

“I was angry enough to pull the baton out. I sprayed myself,” Mills said.

He also testified that he watched as Martin began punching Nichols.

“I looked and wondered why was he punching him. I didn’t want to look anymore because it didn’t look good,” said Mills.

Mills was asked about a photo Haley allegedly took of Nichols after the beating, which prosecuting attorneys say was shared with other people. Mills admitted to being made aware of the photo after the fact.

Body camera footage was shown in court of the five officers standing around after the beating, talking about the events that had just occurred. Mills identified Officer Martin as the one heard on video describing his punches as “haymakers.”

He said Martin and Smith also told the other officers they were “rocking him (Nichols).”

Mills told the jury that Martin gestured to him to take his body camera off to “come talk to him.”

“I kept asking him what happened at the traffic stop… and how did he get here. He said he (Nichols) was swerving into oncoming traffic, said he stopped him, said he (Nichols) got out of the car fighting, told me he pulled out his gun,” said Mills. “I think he told me all three… him, Haley, and Hemphill (an officer at the first scene) was laying on him and Mr. Nichols pushed him off of him and took off running.”

Mills said he was not made aware by Martin of what took place at the second scene before he arrived.

He agreed with prosecuting attorneys that he acted out of anger when participating in the beating and then lied about it.

The defense will begin its cross-examination after a lunch break.

On Monday, prosecutors and attorneys for the defendants discussed which photos, text messages, and other information, including items found in Tyre Nichols’ car, would be admitted in the case.

The court then began opening statements after the jury was seated. Nichol’s mom, RowVaughn Wells, was the state’s first witness.

“My son was beaten to a pulp. His head was the size of a watermelon. His nose was broken, his neck was split open from the swelling,” she said. “They beat the s*** out of my son and left him for dead.”

One of the Nichols’ family attorneys, Antonio Romanucci and Ben Crump have a civil suit against the City of Memphis in this case.

“We see five uniformed Memphis police officers who band together to beat someone senselessly and then disregard his need for medical attention. I mean, that’s what the video shows. It showed the same thing day one,” said Antonio Romanucci. “So I think the evidence is going in as it should. The video hopefully will tell the story for this jury, and they’ll see that Tyree died absolutely senselessly, needlessly. There was no reason for him to have been beaten, punched or baton so many times.”

This story will be updated as the state trial resumes Tuesday morning.

► DAY 1: State trial of ex-officers accused in Tyre Nichols’ death begins